Third Person POV“Brian?! Where the hell have you been? You barely spoke to me all week and I haven’t been able to find you,” Amanda seethed storming over to the computer Brian was sitting at.Without looking up at her, he responded with, “Here.”He was in the library, and he had been for most of the week. Amanda and he don’t share any classes together. The only time they really see each other now is between classes and lunch, which he’s been AWOL for both.He understood why she was frustrated with him, but at the same time, she didn’t really have a right to be upset. They weren’t dating. They were nothing more than friends and he’s made that painfully clear to her.“All week?” She asked, folding her arms across her chest. “You never come to the library. Is it because that slut’s been here?”Brian snapped her a look, a wave of fury washing over him.“Don’t call her that,” he hissed.Her frown deepened and the anger that was once written on her face was replaced with genuine hurt.He s
Joseph’s POVTessa remained in my mind for the rest of the day. I was having trouble concentrating on my work, which was exactly what I didn’t want.The painful expression on her face, when Emily walked into my office, was engraved in my mind. I wanted to explain to Tessa that nothing was going on between Emily and me. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and comfort her more than anything. Her scent lingered in my office, relaxing my entire body.I wanted to feel her, to touch her, and to kiss her. I wanted to bend her over my desk and have my way with her. But I had to restrain myself. Especially while we were at school.I struggled to brush that thought out of my head, but eventually, I did and was able to finish my work before class time.Emily stood outside her classroom as she often did so she could greet her students as they walked in. She too had a night class, claiming that it was easier for her because she didn’t like waking up early. She didn’t meet my eyes or greet me as she of
Tessa’s POVMy heart nearly jumped out of my throat at his words. I stared over at him in shock and saw the dark expression that hovered across his features. His eyes were fixed on my face, and I couldn’t read the look he was giving me.But he just asked me to go with him for spring break, to the mountains.Was he serious?”“Really?” I found myself asking.He nodded his head once.“It can be a trial run to see if you can handle the life of a vampire,” he explained. “I trust my tribe. Though they might be a little hostile toward you, they won’t hurt you if you are there as my guest.”I stared up at him in complete shock. I hardly even knew what to say. I wanted to throw my arms around him and hug him close to me. I wanted to press my lips against him and feel his closeness. I needed to be with him in all the ways possible.But I remained frozen in his passenger seat, staring at him with what I’m assuming was a dumbfounded expression.He frowned and stared around my face.“Unless that’s
Tessa’s POVMy entire body tingled with satisfaction when I woke up the next morning. The sun was hardly awake, and neither was Joseph. He was sleeping soundly from beside me. I couldn’t help but smile.He didn’t leave. Just as he promised. I leaned over and kissed his cheek gently. I just wanted to curl up and nuzzle myself against him, but I had to get ready for school. My heart was pounding against my ribcage as memories of last night played repeatedly in my mind.He wants me to go with him to the mountains over spring break. We are in a dating trial period, and I was determined to make him see that it was worth it. I wanted to be worth everything to him, just as he was worth everything to me.He wasn’t going to regret this decision.I kissed him again as I slid out of bed. Our clothes were still on the ground from last night and I couldn’t help that stupid grin on my face. I grabbed my clothes and threw them in my hamper before grabbing a sweater and a pair of jeans.I went into t
Tessa’s POVI stood frozen at the doorway of Joseph’s office. He was on the phone, talking to someone I couldn’t hear. But he was telling them about me.He looked up from his computer suddenly and saw me standing before him.“I’ll call you back, Carter,” he said just as he hung up the phone. “Hi,” he said to me, his lips forming a smile.“I’m sorry for interrupting your phone call,” I said, stepping into his office and shutting the door behind me.“You are never interrupting me, Tessa.”My face flushed at his words and I’m sure my grin looked goofy to him.“Is everything okay?” He asked, staring around my face questionably.My eyes widened and I nodded quickly.“Yes,” I said a little too quickly. “I just wanted to see you. I’m sorry.”“Stop apologizing,” he said with a faint smile. He motioned for the chair in front of his desk. “Sit.”I nodded and took a seat in front of him, tugging my fingers nervously. I suddenly forgot why I wanted to see him.“Who were you talking to about me?”
Tessa’s POVThere was silence in the room as everyone turned to face me. My eyes were on Joseph, and he gave me a wary look in return.“I’m going home to the country to see my father,” I said, turning to address everyone. “I haven’t seen him in a while, and I miss him.”I ran my fingers through my hair, and everyone began to murmur amongst themselves, turning away from me.I looked at Ruby who looked like she was trying hard to not burst out laughing. I gave her a warning look but then grinned at her face.After class, I didn’t wait for Joseph like I usually would. I would meet up with him afterward, but Ruby wanted to come over and help me pack for my trip. We leave tomorrow night, and I was beyond nervous. I told Joseph that I was going to need a night with my best friend before I went away with him, and he understood.I went to my locker to put some things away and grab some things while Ruby went to the bathroom. Just as I shut my locker door to meet up with her near the bathrooms
Tessa’s POV“What am I supposed to pack to meet his family?” I asked, rummaging through my drawers with a frown.Ruby was standing in my closet, staring up at the dresses that I own.“Oh my god, Tessa,” Ruby chuckled, pulling out a very short black dress. “You have to pack this.”The dress was a gift and never worn. I never had a reason to wear it. Brian bought it for me for a cocktail party, but I didn’t feel comfortable wearing it, so I wore something else. I remember the look of disappointment on his face when I showed up wearing a casual dress.“I’ll pass,” I told her, shaking my head. “Brian bought it for me.”“It still has the tag on it,” she said, taking the dress out of the closet. “Who cares who bought it? It’s cute as fuck. It’ll make Professor Hottie go insane for you.”“Since when do we call him ‘Professor Hottie’?” I chuckled.She shrugged.“Since you started your secret affair with him,” she replied with a sly grin. “Pack it,” she added throwing the dress on the bed.“Wh
Tessa’s POVJoseph looked almost mournful when he told me this story and my heart tugged for him.“He didn’t handle the transition well at first,” Joseph explained. “He was angry with me for fucking up his fate. I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to do it. I haven’t been able to do it again since.”He went quiet for a moment as the memories surfaced in his mind.“You don’t have to tell me anymore if you don’t want to,” I said softly. “I understand.”“No, you should know some of the backgrounds before we arrive,” he said, taking a deep breath. “At first, I thought he was dead. As did his doctors. But then he woke up and he was… hungry.”Something was telling me he wasn’t talking about food. My stomach tightened at his words.“Did he hurt anyone?” I was afraid to ask.“Yes,” Joseph answered. “A lot of people died that night. It took me a while to find him and calm him down. I gave him blood from the blood bags I stole and made him go to school with me. I went back to the school to re-dom
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