Tessa’s POV“Tessa, what are you doing here? I thought you were busy today,” Ruby said, staring around my face with hurt clear in her eyes.I was at a loss for words. I had texted Ruby earlier and told her I couldn’t hang out today because I had tons of homework I needed to finish. She understood and left it alone. But now she was standing in front of me and saw me dining with a gentleman she had never seen before.She glanced at the table and her eyes found Jordans’ who looked unphased by the situation. He leaned back in his seat with almost amusement lingering in his eyes.“Ruby…” I said slowly, trying to figure out what to say. “This is Jordan. My friend.”The word “friend,” was like a bad taste on my tongue and I fought a wince. I could sense Jordan’s pure enjoyment from behind me and I wanted to punch him in the face. I would have thought about doing that if I wasn’t afraid, he’d kick my ass.“Your friend?” She asked, raising her brows at me. “You never mentioned a Jordan and we
Tessa’s POVI got the feeling someone was watching me, but figured it had to have been my imagination. I continued to write out my thoughts in my journal as I often did in the evenings. The sun was setting in the distance. There was just enough sunlight left to light up my journal and make it easy for me to see what I was writing.But soon enough it would be gone, and I would only be left with the rays of the moon.The outdoor lights would soon be turned on as well, lighting up the garden that I sat in.Roses have always been my favorite flower and I was excited when I saw that Joseph had a rose bush section in his garden. It seemed he had a section for everything. There were even fruits and vegetables.I was in awe of this entire area, and I couldn’t help but be amazed at how well-maintained his landscaping was.There were cobblestone walkways that lead into each section along with stone benches for resting. I sat on one of the benches with my journal, long after I had finished decor
Tessa’s POVI couldn’t stop thinking about my conversation with Jack, long after we parted ways. He seemed nice and genuine; I didn’t get any feeling that he was lying to me and I’m usually good at knowing when someone is truthful or not. It’s been a talent I’ve had since I was a little girl. Some have easier tells than others; like Ruby when she plays with her hair or my father when he scratches his chin. But Jack, overall, just seemed confused.He saw Joseph as an actual old man, and it made me wonder if others saw him that way as well. It would explain why Joseph rarely leaves his house during the day and has all the help that he does.I made it a mental note to ask him about it later; I had a feeling Joseph did something to Jack’s mind to make him see him as a helpless old man.I decided for right now, to put that thought aside. Now that the sun was almost completely set, it wouldn’t be long before Joseph woke up.I wanted to make another meal for him tonight.I also wanted to sho
Tessa’s POVI woke up to the sound of my phone going off.When I opened my eyes, I could see the faint sunlight beaming in through the window, nearly blinding me. I forgot to shut the blinds last night.I lifted my head and grabbed my phone off the nightstand where I left it charging overnight. It was Sunday, so there was really no reason anyone should be waking me up right now unless it was urgent.I was shocked to see Ruby’s name appear on my phone.It was a text message that read: “Oh my god, Tessa! Your newest blog post was amazing. did you mean to post an entry from your personal journal??”I rose my brows at my phone. My last conversation with Ruby wasn’t exactly a pleasant one. In fact, she was very upset and hurt by me. It was my understanding that I wasn’t going to hear from her this weekend and that I would just talk to her at school on Monday.“Does this mean you’re not upset with me anymore?” I texted back.“I’m still upset. I’m very hurt that you lied to me. But you are s
Tessa’s POVI returned to my room shortly after my conversation with Joseph and he went straight to his so he could sleep for the day.It was going to be a quiet and lonely day for sure and I needed to figure out what to do with myself while he slept. There was no way he’d let me go into the city without Jordan.I suppose I could go back out into the gardens and do a little bit more writing.First things first, I needed to get dressed.I grabbed an outfit out of one of the many drawers this room had and went to take a shower. It felt like it’s been ages since I was able to shower without care or fear in the world. I felt incredibly relaxed and in bliss, as the hot water soaked my body and soothed my aching muscles.I closed my eyes as the water soaked through my hair. I breathed in the lavender scent, and I couldn’t help but smile up at the steam that danced off the ceiling.Once I was done in the shower, I threw my hair in its usual messy bun and then dressed before leaving the bathr
Tessa’s POVRuby was right. Jordan looked anything but happy. Especially when he saw me standing in the middle of the café.He narrowed his eyes at me and began stalking toward our direction.“What is he some kind of bodyguard?” Ruby asked from behind me, watching as Jordan only grew angrier.“Something like that,” I said, biting my bottom lip nervously, wondering what Jordan was about to do.It was no secret that he already didn’t like me, though, I thought he warmed up to me a little when we went shopping together. But it seems that the bonding experience had worn off and now it was just an angry shell of a man.“Let’s go,” he said between his teeth, keeping his eyes locked on mine.I knew he was being careful with what he said knowing that Ruby was watching and listening. I wasn’t going to argue with him, especially considering his hand was back on his gun.I hoped that Ruby didn’t notice that as well.I turned to Ruby and tried to give her a confident smile to reassure her that ev
Tessa’s POVThe next day“We should send flowers to Miss Peabody. I hear she fell ill.”“Maybe we can get everyone to sign a card as well!”I heard the murmurs of students as I put my things in my locker and I frowned at Ruby who leaned against her own locker, watching as those students walked by.“What’s going on?” I asked her, obviously, I had missed something while I’d been so wrapped up with Joseph.“Miss Peabody is sick. I guess she’s out for the rest of the semester,” Ruby explained.“What?” I gasped. “Who’s going to be teaching her writing course?”Miss Peabody would have been our writing professor if Joseph hadn’t come along and offered his special writing course. Her classroom was right next to his and she’s worked at this school for years. We always joked that she was immortal because she was so old, and retirement was never even a thought that crossed her mind.“I heard there’s a new teacher coming to replace her,” Ruby answered.A new teacher? In the middle of the semester
Tessa’s POV“Emily Thorton?!” Ruby gasped, nearly jumping to her feet in the lunchroom as soon as I told her about my encounter with the new teacher.“Yes,” I said, frowning down at my sandwich. “She just barged into Joseph’s office.”“I can’t believe you met the actual Emily Thorton. You know how much I love her,” Ruby cooed. “She’s my favorite blogger! What’s she like in person? I imagine she’s just as cool in person as she is in her blog.”I thought about the encounter, and I shrugged.“She was okay,” I said, not wanting to admit that she was incredibly cool. Everything was cool about her, even the way she dressed. Not to mention she was beautiful in every way possible. It was no wonder Joseph jumped at the opportunity to walk her to her office despite me being right there.“Just, okay?” Ruby asked, raising her brows. “Or are you just saying that because Joseph kicked you out of his office for her?”“He didn’t kick me out. We were done with our conversation, and she was lost,” I sa
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