Joseph’s POVIt took everything I had to keep myself under control while at the headquarters. I thought I was going to rip out Jordan’s heart for suggesting this stupid plan.The amount of rage I felt was lethal.Tessa was afraid of what I might do, and I didn’t blame her.After what happened with Noah, I didn’t want to chance anything like that happening to Tessa. I couldn’t live with myself.I could tell that Tessa was the kind of girl who would run into the eye of danger.This mission was going to be different than Noah’s mission. This time, I wasn’t going to take my eyes off her. The first sign of danger and I will be there. I was determined to make sure she was safe during this mission.In the car ride home, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the potential dangers we could be facing. Right now, we only think there are two vampires, but there could be more. We need to be prepared for any possible ambushes.Which meant I needed to set guards in certain areas. I wanted every corner
Tessa’s POVI woke up early the next morning, and quickly took a shower, getting dressed for the day. Joseph was waiting for me downstairs.Somehow, he looked even better this morning than he had all the other mornings. Not that he didn’t look good before, but my heart was beating harder than it ever had before and I felt my face warm as I neared him with my suitcases.“Did you get any sleep?” I asked him, staring around his well-put-together outfit and neatly combed hair.He nodded.“A little,” he answered.That was a relief to me because I needed him to be awake and alert for the next few days. Without another word, he picked up my bags and brought them to his car.The ride to headquarters was mainly quiet. I wondered if he thought about last night at all. I feel like something had happened between us. Or it was about to happen. I could hardly comprehend the moment and while it was happening, it felt like slow motion.There was a pull between us, pulling us together and I felt entra
Joseph’s POV“It’s been three days and there’s still no signs of these new vampires,” I growled. “Face it, Mulligan This plan was nothing but a failure. I’m pulling her out of there.”“Not yet,” Mulligan scowled. “We need to give it more time.”Three days.Three days without a single new vampire sighting. It was aggravating. I have stayed in my posts for those three days, waiting and watching. Tessa did a variety of activities while in this apartment, but I could tell she was losing her mind with boredom.She did a lot of yoga and meditation. I didn’t know if she did either, but she was incredibly flexible. She changed into tight yoga pants and a workout bra that showed a lot of her stomach and enhanced her breasts.I didn’t like the fact that everyone could look at her like this. A pit of fury boiled in my stomach, an unfamiliar feeling, but something I had trouble ignoring.When she bent down, touching her toes without bending her knees, I felt my cock grow hard.Get it together, Jo
Tessa’s POVI ran toward my bedroom. Once I saw the window in the living room was opening, slamming the door shut behind me.The hissing coming from the window in my room had me nearly paralyzed.The window was pushed in and shattered to the ground. I stumbled backward as an unfamiliar face crawled through the window.I screamed, wondering if Joseph could hear me.I thought he could teleport. Why wasn’t he here?Just as I ran toward the door, my bare foot snagged on a piece of glass on the ground and blood spattered around me.I yelled out in pain, nearly falling to the floor. My foot throbbed from the cut, and I heard the vampire gasping. When I turned back, I saw the hunger in his eyes. He opened his mouth, revealing fangs, and his breathing grew immensely. Dark swirls covered his face, and his eyes were black like the night sky.He lunged toward me in a quick motion. I managed to grab the door and pull myself out of the room, slamming the door shut just as he reached me. He ran int
Tessa’s POVMy heart was pounding violently in my chest as I stared up at Joseph. We shared a kiss in the heat of the moment that set my entire soul on fire. His touch sent warmth throughout my body, and I knew my face was probably the color of an apple.The kiss was short, but it was sweet. His lips fit perfectly against mine and he cradled me in his arms like he was afraid I was going to break at any moment.At that moment, nothing else mattered and it felt like we were the only two people in the room. I tuned out the sounds of Mulligan yelling for his men to search the rest of the premises. I ignored Mulligan trying to get Joseph to get me out of here.Nothing else seemed to matter.His eyes were on mine, and I could see the questions circulating in them. I wondered if he felt the connection as I did, or if it was all in my head.“Joseph?” Mulligan said, stepping beside him. “Did you hear me? You need to get her out of here.”Joseph blinked, finally pulling his gaze away from mine
Joseph’s POVTessa sat up on the couch with her head resting on the back pillow and her journal still open on her lap. She had fallen asleep, and I wondered if she was waiting for me.This feeling in my chest left me unsettled. How could something so small have such an effect on my heart in this way?I admit that when I first met Tessa, I was drawn to her, and I don’t think it was just her blood that caused me to become curious. It was her aura and the look in her eyes when we passed one another. Her blood was scented strong, and I was intrigued by her, but there was something more at play that I couldn’t put my finger on.However, Tessa is a brilliant young, 20-year-old, woman with an entire life laid out in front of her. She has goals and plans for her future. She’s a very talented writer and I knew she’d be going places. She deserved a luxurious life in the city, dining with publishers, and doing interviews.A life with a vampire isn’t probable for her and I wouldn’t wish that on h
Tessa’s POVIn just seconds, my heart shattered into a million pieces.Joseph stared at me like I was nothing more than a bug.“Move out?” I managed to ask, my voice becoming way softer than I wanted it to.“Now that the city is cleared from new vampires, I don’t see a point in you staying here any longer,” he said, keeping his eyes locked on mine. “Plus, considering I’m your professor, it’s probably better if you didn’t live with me for much longer.”My entire body was numb, and I couldn’t find the words to say.He sighed.“We knew this wasn’t permanent,” he said, his tone a little softer. “I took the liberty of searching for some apartments close to the school. A real estate agent was also contacted and will be arriving in a few hours to take you to these locations so you can see them in person. But I left the pictures and important documents you’ll need for the agent on the kitchen counter.”I managed a head nod.He looked at me for a moment longer before turning away and leaving.
Tessa’s POVI laughed nervously, making Claire frown.“I’m sorry,” I chuckled. “Joseph isn’t my boyfriend. He’s my professor and mentor. He’s just helping me out.”Claire rose her brows.“Oh, I’m sorry. From my understanding, you were living with him. I just assumed you were in a relationship.”“I’m sorry for the confusion,” I said to her with as much sincerity as I could muster. “Like I said, he’s just helping me.”“Well, he certainly knows how to pick out really nice apartments. He was in communication with me for most of the night and into the morning. I hardly slept,” she chuckled. “He was very adamant about finding you the perfect home. He took a lot of notes on those photos. If you take a look at the back of them, you’ll see his notes and requests.”I frowned and dug through the photos.She was right. He put a bunch of handwritten notes on the back of them.He made notes such as:Preferably an extra room for an office.Laundry and dryer in the unit is a must.Preferably a view o
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