Chapter 117

Joseph’s POV

She wasn’t answering her phone. I called her about 5 times, and she hasn’t answered any of them. What could possibly be wrong? I knew she’d been with Carter all day.

I decided to call Carter instead.

“Hey, man,” he said breathlessly into the phone.

I knew he was in the middle of training. I could hear the other warriors in the background.

“Is Tessa with you?” I asked.

He was hesitant for a moment.

“No. She went with Fae to the hot springs,” Carter answered.

My heart dropped into my stomach.

Fae was a human. Actually, she was Ryan’s human.

“And Ryan was okay with that?” I asked.

“No, but he didn’t have a choice. I approved it,” Carter answered.

Ryan was going to be furious with Fae for going anywhere without him. The thought of her with Tessa made my stomach hurt. I wasn’t anticipating them to talk and hit it off. Fae wasn’t someone Tessa would typically befriend. At least, I didn’t think so.

“How long ago was that?” I asked, stepping on the gas even harder.

“Maybe 30 minutes ago,” Carter responded. “Tessa wasn’t looking well. She was sitting on the benches with Fae watching us train and then I saw her run off. When I went to check on her, she was pale and was having a panic attack.”

A panic attack?

Tessa wasn’t one to have a panic attack, unless Fae had said something to her that set her off. I thought about the 15 missed phone calls and my heart grew incredibly heavy in my chest. I didn’t need Carter to tell me anything more. I knew exactly what was going on and why Tessa was so upset.

“I’ll be there shortly,” I said as I hung up the phone.

I threw my phone on the passenger seat and clutched the steering wheel with my hands until my knuckles grew white.

This was my own fault for not telling Tessa the full truth, but I wasn’t sure how she would handle something like this. I never told her that the humans in our village are actually blood slaves. It might come across as a barbaric concept, but it’s not that bad. We aren’t hurting humans, in fact, we give them more life than they could ever dream of. I don’t allow the vampires to harm any of the blood slaves though.

They are perfectly safe, including Fae.

Their blood regenerates quickly and they heal as fast as vampires do. Not to mention they don’t age, and they don’t die. It was their choice to come here and escape the reality of their lives. We give them a choice. We don’t kidnap them.

I should have told Tessa the truth about it.

I made it back to the village in under an hour and I parked my car in my usual spot. I didn’t bother going to the training ground first, I knew Tessa was probably at the hot spring. I teleported myself just outside the clearing that led to the hot spring and riverbed jump.

As soon as I got there though, I could smell that she wasn’t alone. It wasn’t just Fae she was with.

I ran through the clearing and my entire body was paralyzed when my eyes adjusted to what I was seeing.

Ryan was in the hot spring with Fae. His arms tightly around her and it appeared like he was kissing her neck from the angle I stood, but I knew better than that. I could smell the strong scent of Fae’s blood.

He was drinking from her.

I looked over and saw Tessa staring at them with a paling face. Her entire body was trembling, and it took everything in her to not run away.

I felt a wave of fury going through me.

“Ryan,” I hissed, marching toward them.

Tessa broke her gaze from them and looked at me. I could see the pure relief on her face as tears quickly filled her eyes.

But my eyes were fixed on Ryan who had pulled away from a very dizzy Fae. He had blood staining his features and his dark eyes were thin like slits and a grin appeared on his blood-soaked lips.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I said through my teeth.

“I just got out of training, and I was hungry,” Ryan shrugged innocently. “I don’t need to deprive myself just because your human is around.”

“You didn’t need to do that in front of her,” I growled, more fury rising through me. I wanted to rip his smug head off his shoulders. I always hated Ryan. He’s always been a prick.

“What fun would that be?” Ryan chuckled as he brushed some hair that had fallen out of Fae’s face. She was in a daze and looked like she might pass out at any moment.

Tessa was still frozen and my heart hurt seeing her in that position. I shouldn’t have lied to her like I did.

“Besides, you are the one who left her alone. You should have known she would have seen some vampire stuff without you being here to shield her,” Ryan said, narrowing his dark eyes at me.

“Your disrespect toward your Elder won’t get you far, Ryan,” I growled. “Fae isn’t looking well, you should get her out of here and let her rest.”

Ryan glanced at Fae’s face. Her eyes were now closed. He didn’t look the least bit concerned though.

“She’ll be fine in a few hours,” he shrugged. “What I’m most interested in right now though is your pretty little human. She smells amazing. I bet she tastes just as good.”

So, that’s what this is about. I should have known.

“You’ll never find out,” I said, curling my top lip up in disgust.

“It’s funny because she doesn’t harvest your scent. Which means she’s not your blood slave. Which means she’s free game.”

I saw fucking red.

“Touch her and I’ll make you wish for death,” I hissed. “You’ll soon find out why Nyx chose to gift me the abilities she did. I won’t go easy on you.”

He looked at me for a moment longer. There wasn’t any fear in his eyes, but his body changed, maybe even tensed.

“It’s not fair to keep the human girl that smells that delicious to yourself. The others are going to start wanting her just as badly,” Ryan said, standing to his feet and lifting Fae into his arms, bridal style. “It won’t be long before they finally get what they want.”

He stepped out of the hot spring.

“It won’t happen,” I said with a darkening tone. “If anyone touches her, they will have to deal with the Elders as a unit. Stay away from her. This is your final warning.”

Ryan only chuckled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He stepped around me and walked toward the forest, but not before I heard him muttering, “We’ll see about that.” But his words got carried into the wind and disappeared just as he did.

I was furious that he put Tessa in that position. I turned to look at her and she was still staring at me completely frozen and very pale.

I sighed and walked over to her.

“Tessa…” I breathed as I reached her. “Are you okay?”

“I… I...” she stammered, unable to form a proper sentence.

It didn’t take long for the tears to spill from her eyes as she narrowed her eyes at me, still unmoving.

“How could you not tell me….?” She asked hoarsely. “How could you not tell me about the blood slaves?”