Tessa’s POV
What the hell was Penny doing here? And what did Megan mean when she introduced her as an old friend? I wasn’t aware that Megan knew my father’s wife. A blind rage coursed through me, and I found myself clenching my fists at my side.
I couldn’t just expose her as a fraud in front of everybody, let alone my boss. I had to play nicely and pretend that I was just meeting her for the first time. So, I plastered a fake smile on my lips.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too strained. “How did you two meet?”
“We were sorority sisters,” Megan said, a wide smile on her red lips. “We have been friends since college. We lost touch for a while, but when she came to me a few weeks ago and asked me to lunch, I couldn’t invite her to my banquet.”
My eyes never left Penny’s and her eyes never left mine. Something tr
Tessa’s POV“What do you mean she was taken, Mulligan?” I asked through my teeth, panic slamming into my chest. How could it be possible that someone was taken from the vampire academy? Don’t they have maximum security or something? I know it’s not a prison or anything, but they certainly treat it like it is.My eyes wandered over to see Joseph was on the stage. He was busy talking about his career and the next book he’s writing which is scheduled to be released in a couple of months. He already started to promote it and his fans are excited to read his next book.Everybody at the banquet was eager to ask him questions. He looked to be in his element despite keeping himself out of the public eye for so many years. I understood why he did it; he didn’t want people to know what he looked like so that changing his identity later in life would be easy. Joseph is immortal, which means he doesn’t age and
Tessa’s POV“Why would the headmaster be lying?” I asked as soon as Joseph hung up the phone.“That’s what I’d like to find out,” he said, his face void of emotions. I could tell he was thinking deeply about something, and my chest ached.I was worried for my best friend; if something happened to her because of me, I would never forgive myself. By the time we returned home, my anxiety was through the roof. Esme was in the basement with some others of our coven; over the course of these last couple of weeks, we turned our fully done basement into a magic room where we could practice magic and create potions without anyone spotting on the outside us or being suspicious. We also use the fenced-in backyard for our elemental magic training.The basement also doubled as an apartment where Bennet and Cole lived but it was big enough that we were able to turn half of it into a magic room. Joseph built a wall, separa
Tessa’s POV “The headmaster is corrupted; we’ve been interrogating him for hours and he won’t tell us where Ruby is. Carter is going ballistic,” Nathan said as we walked across the campus of the vampire academy.We were told they were interrogating him in the visiting section. Most of the campus was on lockdown while the investigation went underway. I never expected that the headmaster of this school could be corrupted and work with the enemy. My head was spinning with realization over the fact that we’ve been played.The enemy has been under our noses; watching every move we made, this entire time. I felt nauseated that Ruby fell victim because of our neglect. I just hoped we would find her before it was too late.I heard the screaming of a tortured man just as we walked into the visiting center. Bernard and a few guards were standing outside the main room with their arms folded across their chests. T
Tessa’s POV“We need to speak with Joseph,” Bernard said as soon as we burst through the doors of the visiting center.The guards glanced down at me with a frown.“Joseph said—”“I don’t care what Joseph said, I’m the boss. This is too important to wait,” Bernard said, cutting off his words.“Yes, sir,” the guard said as he stepped aside.I followed Bernard through the door, and I froze entirely when I saw that the headmaster glob was in a much worse state. Carter was practically hyperventilating in the corner with blood covering his face, hands, and clothes. I knew it wasn’t his blood which made me shudder. But that wasn’t what made me freeze; it was Joseph.He was also now covered in blood, and he looked to be filled with rage.“Joseph!” Bernard shouted, ordering him to stop. He was about to deliver another blow on
Tessa’s POV“Bernard!!” I squealed as he slammed on the brakes of the car. The car, which was originally going fast, began to fishtail around the road and then it spun around from the force of the brakes.The dark cloud swirled around us, blocking our vision from everything.Joseph wrapped his arms around me, burying my face in his chest as the car continued to spin in circles. I heard Carter yelling something, but I couldn’t make out what it was. My heart hammered wildly around my chest.Bernard jerked the wheel again, trying to gain control of the car, but it only made things worse. It was almost like we were on a bed of ice and the car was skidding across the road. There wasn’t much of anything for us to do besides hope and pray that it ended soon.Moon Goddess, please help us… My head slammed into the window and then to the seat in front of me just as the car finally skidded
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
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
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 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