Tessa’s POVThe Nightwalker police were wildly known for their “secret” organization. Nobody has ever seen them in person, but we have all heard of them.They handle the most dangerous and unheard-of cases that the normal police can’t handle.Nobody knows who the members of this police organization are, and nobody knows where their headquarters are. So, for Joseph to be able to connect with them with a single text message was incredible and unbelievable.Brian slowly hung up the phone while his mother was still talking. We all continued to stare at Joseph in awe.“How did you do that?” Brian asked him.“We all have our secrets,” Joseph said, and for a moment, I wondered if that was a shot at me.“Who are you?” Brian’s voice trembled as he asked.“Let’s just say, I’m not someone you can mess with quite as easily. But please, feel free to try again.”Brian held up his phone to reveal the video that was sent to the Nightwalker police. I was still in shock that Joseph was able to reach th
Tessa’s POVWhen I looked back over my shoulder at the motorcycle, I saw that there were several more following me.My first thought was to run, but I knew they would be able to catch me quickly on their bikes. It would be pointless and would probably make things a lot worse. Not that screaming would be any better, but then maybe I could get someone’s attention.I looked around the dark streets, trying not to be too obvious. This was the section of the city that not only had fewer pedestrians but also no working street cameras. This was the perfect spot for all sorts of crimes, including those animal attacks that have been all over the news recently.I shuddered at the very thought, remembering the images that have been spreading all over the internet.Maybe they weren’t animal attacks at all.Panic began to set in as I realized that I was in some serious trouble. I could tell from the matching jackets that these bikers were part of some gang. They were also people I didn’t want to me
Tessa’s POVWhere did he just go?He was only there moments ago.The only proof left of anything happening was the crumbled motorcycles left in the streets. I stood in place, trying to make sense of everything that had happened, but my mind couldn’t comprehend any of it.Soon, a police car was pulling out in front of me, along with an ambulance. A couple of cops got out of their cars and rushed toward me once they saw the shards spread out across the street.“Are you okay?” One of the officers asked, examining my body with his eyes. “Can you tell us what happened?”I was still staring off in the direction of those goons, tears lingering in my eyes and threatening to escape.“I was attacked,” I managed to say, turning my direction to the officer taking the notes. “These gang members on bikes followed me and tried to get me to go with them.”“We have an officer patrolling the area as we speak,” he explained. “Just try to breathe. You are safe now.”“How did you know I was in danger?”“J
Tessa’s POVI woke up early so I could make some finishing changes and revisions to my short story before I sent it in by the 10 am deadline.Ruby left her room, already fully dressed.“Good morning,” Ruby said with a smile. “Have you been up all night?”“No, I got a few hours of sleep. I just want this paper to be perfect,” I explained to her.This was the first time I had written so fluently in the process of creation. Stories like this had never come so effortlessly before. I was nervous about sending this in, but at the same time, I was also excited.Ruby grabbed a pop tart and sat at the kitchen table while I finished.“Did you already finish your paper?” I asked, peering over at her.“I submitted it last night,” she told me, but I could see the worried look on her face. “If I continued working on it, I would have ruined it. I just wanted to get it over with.”I thought about asking her what she wrote about, but I thought it might have been better if neither of us knew too many d
Tessa’s POVWe walked up the stairs until we reached the faculty center. It was fairly vacant considering it was late in the evening and most teachers had already gone home.Joseph’s office was in the back corner and secluded from most of the others. Like his bedroom, the office was extremely shaded. It was like he was afraid to allow any kind of sunlight through the window.Not that there was much sunlight right now anyways.Looking through the curtains that occupied his window, I could see the area of the street where the motorcycle gang had me surrounded.He really did have a good view of that.I wondered how I must have looked to him from up here. I wondered what he must have felt when he called the police.I looked up at the camera in the hallway that captured him in his office during the attack. It didn’t look like a camera that was out of the ordinary.“Was there something you wanted to talk about?” Joseph asked, peering over at me from his desk.“Thank you for calling the poli
Tessa’s POVI felt my body tremble under the intensity of his stare. He was only inches from me, and I saw how red his eyes had gotten.“I’m not trying to look at your neck,” I said to him in a small voice. “I thought I saw something on your shirt I was trying to get for you.”It was a lame excuse and telling from his expression, he knew it. He released his hold on me, allowing me to move from beyond the wall he had me pinned against.His expression was back to normal, and I felt like I could finally breathe, at least for a moment.“You can leave now,” he ordered, keeping his tone low and his eyes away from me.“I’m sorry—”“I don’t know what any of this was about, but don’t make these excessive moves again,” he said, sending a shiver to course through my body.I quickly nodded my head, showing him that I understood.“It won’t happen again,” I assured him.I mean that as well. It was clear to me now that I was hallucinating the entire time. Joseph was never there last night. He only s
Tessa’s POV“I’m sorry…” I said hoarsely. “Did you say that you found them dead?” I asked, my voice trembling.The last I saw them, they were alive. They were running off into the darkness once the sirens could be heard. But maybe that was part of my imagination as well.I felt sick thinking about it.How much of that night was real and how much was the hallucination?“Yes, they were found dead. With interesting wound marks. We are going to need to ask you a few questions at the police station. Do you have a few minutes to stop by?”It was after class and it was late in the evening, so I didn’t really have much more going on.“Yes, I’ll be there soon,” I said just before hanging up the phone.“Are you ready to go?” Ruby asked as she came out of the bathroom. I was going to return home with her initially.“Actually, something came up,” I told her quickly. “I’ll see you at home later.”I didn’t want to tell her that I was going to the police station. At least not until I knew for sure w
Tessa’s POVI spent most of the night researching vampires and finding a lot of information about them. Of course, these were all stories, but with all the evidence I already accumulated these last couple of days, things were finally starting to add up.Joseph teaches classes at night and keeps his windows shaded in both his house and his office. I thought it was strange how dark he liked things. It was almost like he was avoiding the sun. Most of the articles I had read during the course of the night all mentioned that vampires burn in the sun.I remember his eyes turning red and his ability to suppress Brian so easily. Not to mention the bite marks and hallucinations.I know I’m not crazy. These things happened, and they were very real. I remember the moonlight hitting his features so perfectly, lighting up his entire face.There was no mistake. It was definitely him.The correspondence of these details made me feel both nervous and excited. My body grew warm as I thought more about
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