Tessa’s POVIt was Friday and I couldn’t have been happier about that.The conversation I had with Brian stuck in my mind and I couldn’t seem to shake this nasty and unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. He had taken up so much space in my head and I just wanted him to get out.“Maybe you should think about getting a restraining order,” Ruby suggested as we sat down in our usual seats in Joseph’s classroom.“He’s not dangerous,” I said, shaking my head. “Just an asshole. I’ll be fine. I’ll just keep ignoring him until he gets the hint.”“And he doesn’t know where you are staying, right?”“Nope,” I answered.“Maybe it’s better if you stayed in the hotel then,” she said with a shrug. “Brian knows where I live, and I wouldn’t want to put you in danger.”“I really don’t think he’s dangerous. He has too much to lose,” I said in return. “But you are right. It’ll be better if he doesn’t know where I am.”“Good morning, everybody,” Joseph said as he walked into the room. “I was able to
Tessa’s POVI didn’t get much more engagement on my blog other than Ruby. Then again, I didn’t stick around long enough to find out if anyone else read my post.I looked around the room with a frown. It was very plain in there. I couldn’t wait to go to the store over the weekend and do a little shopping. I still had money in my savings account and my father still gives me an allowance every week. So, I had plenty of money to get a lot of things for this villa.Joseph liked dark colors it seemed. I didn’t want to get too many bright things, but I also didn’t want this place to feel so gloomy. He gave me permission to open the curtains of my room and I was pleased to see that I had a nice view of the garden.The garden was huge and led straight to the pool yard. Even at night, it was gorgeous and perfectly lit up with outdoor lighting. The pool water glistened under the illuminated lighting of the outdoor lights and the moonlight.I wondered if he ever used the pool. I also wondered who
Joseph’s POV“I had no idea you could cook,” I said as we sat down at the dinner table.She had a couple of bowls placed out with a big pot of stew in the center. She also managed to get into my wine cellar and grabbed some white wine to go with dinner.“My father taught me,” she explained as she poured wine into the glasses. “Stew was one of my mom’s favorite things to cook and he had her recipe after she passed away. I’m sorry I didn’t ask permission first. I just figured there was so much food sitting around, I might as well cook it.”“You don’t need to apologize. it smells delicious.”She smiled at the compliment.I don’t usually sit in the dining room when I eat dinner. Typically, the normal spot I eat is in my office while I’m doing work. Seeming it’s usually just me, it’s worked out fine for me. But now that Tessa was going to be around for a little while, I supposed I should get used to this.It was normal for a mortal to want company regardless of how tired they are.I began
Tessa’s POV“Can we please talk?” The text message from Brian read.I wasn’t sure what he could possibly want to talk about. It didn’t make sense to me. We spoke all that we needed to speak earlier. He promised that he would leave me alone.I didn’t want Joseph to know that Brian was still communicating with me, so I shoved my phone into my pocket without saying a word.Joseph only looked at me curiously for a long while. Probably trying to figure out why I was acting so suspiciously.I grabbed his plate and my plate and started to make my way into the kitchen area to clean the dishes, but Joseph stood up quickly, stopping me.“I can call back Monica and have her do the dishes,” Joseph said, eyeing my face carefully.“No, that’s okay,” I said quickly. “I wouldn’t want to trouble her. Besides, I’d rather do it myself.”“Then, I’ll help you,” Joseph surprised me by saying. “You cooked me a nice meal. It’s the least I could do.”I felt a smile tugging at my lips as I nodded. He was right
Tessa’s POVThere was a tightness in my throat as I looked up at Jospeh who had just finished cleaning the last of the dishes. I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage as I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.He read my blog?How much of my blog has he read?The only person I knew who read my blog was Ruby. I had a few other followers as well, but they were only random people that I didn’t know. I hadn’t even checked the names of my recent followers.Was Joseph one of them?“You’ve read my blog?” I found myself asking again, my voice sounding distant.He finished drying his hands and he nodded.“How did you even find it?” I asked, feeling the heat rising into my features.“I looked you up. It wasn’t hard to find.”“Why did you look me up?”“I was curious about you,” he said as he walked around me and toward the living room.I went with him, following closely behind him.It was the same living room that we sat in with the other students during his student dinner p
Josephs POVTessa’s eyes scanned the journal, and I could see the wheels turning in her mind. I knew which poems she was reading based on her reactions.I don’t typically let anyone read my poetry. I find them to be personal collections that I keep close to my heart. But there’s something about Tessa that made me want to show her. It was more than just her blood that continues to draw me in daily.Maybe it was the fact that she unapologetically posted her poetry publicly for her few followers to see. It was a brave move that I couldn’t help but admire.Tessa finally looked up from the journal and closed it in her lap. She looked at me for a moment longer, without saying a word, and then handed the journal back.I wasn’t going to ask her what she thought. I already knew.“Thank you for showing me those,” she said with a tone that was uncertain. “That was such raw emotion. I wasn’t expecting that from a fantasy author.”“I’m full of surprises,” I said in return. “As are you.”I kept my
Tessa’s POVMy plan for today was to go shopping for decorations and then spend the evening decorating the Villa.However, Joseph was apprehensive about allowing me to go anywhere for whatever reason. It didn’t look like he had slept in days, and he still wore the same clothing he wore last night.It was from my understanding, considering the sun was up, that he would be asleep right now. It’s not like either of us had to be at school today and I was growing frustrated with his relentless nagging.“The new vampires aren’t going to touch me during the day,” I protested repeatedly. “You even said the other day that I would be safe during the day in a busy area.”“I changed my mind,” Joseph said, shaking his head.It seems he had already made up his mind. I pressed my lips firmly together and folded my arms across my chest.“You are acting controlling.”Joseph looked at me with a dark gaze in his eyes that left me feeling unsettled. There was something he wasn’t telling me, that much was
Tessa’s POVThe drive into the city was silent. After Officer Jordan’s recent threat on my life, I thought it would be better if I said nothing. He wasn’t much of a conversationist anyway.It was infuriating that Joseph didn’t trust me to go into the city alone, but I wasn’t going to argue with a vampire. Just like I’m not going to argue with a Nightwalker officer who was highly trained and skilled in taking out supernatural creatures.He could take me out in a heartbeat.I was probably the least threatening individual, and I didn’t understand why Jordan had it out for me. He made it perfectly clear that he didn’t trust me whatsoever. His not trusting me is causing me to not trust him as well.But strangely enough, I trusted Joseph despite knowing what he was, and I trusted his judgment. He might not like Jordan, but he trusted him to protect me.The city was booming at this time of the day. For a little while, I didn’t think we were going to find any parking. But thankfully, Jordan k
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