Chapter 124

Joseph’s POV

Another trail had gone cold.

These new vampires were getting trickier to catch. My abilities allow me to find them once they are first awoken, but if they escape from the school, or travel far from their awakening spot, the only thing I have to go on is scent and clues that are left behind.

I’ve been searching the perimeter for a little over 12 hours. I’ve been catching his scent periodically, but the trail keeps going cold.

We’ve been weaving in the nearby human city, but his scent doesn’t even come close to that area.

“Could he possibly be hiding under the ground?” One of the school guards had asked.

“It’s possible,” I said in return. “But finding the entrance might be hard if we aren’t looking in the right spots.”

“Then we will start our search for hidden passageways,” he said, looking at the others who had gathered around to help in our search.

“Search the caves as well. They could have hidden passageways there,” I announced to others.

They all nodded in agreement and went off to search the perimeter once again.

“Keep me updated on the search. I’ve been away from the village for too long and need to return to check on things,” I told the head guard.

“Aren’t the other Elders there to keep things running?” He asked, furrowing his brows together.

“There’s someone there I need to check on personally,” I explained, leaving out the fact that she’s a human.

Tessa was probably upset that I hadn’t been around all day or night, and I knew she’d been worried about me. Technically I haven’t been able to get outside and actually search the grounds until the sun went down. I spent most of the day inside the school and finding out what I could from faculty and students.

I spoke to his roommate about anything that could have been said and they were seemingly just as confused about him escaping. One minute he was there and the next minute he wasn’t. There wasn’t any mention of any plans of him escaping and his roommate was knowingly upset about that.

It took me about 30 minutes to return to the village and as soon as I did, I knew something was wrong. The air was dreary, and an unsettled feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.

I went home first to see if Tessa was there, but as soon as I walked into the house and heard the quiet atmosphere, I knew she wasn’t.

“Bernard, have you seen Tessa?” I linked Bernard through my mind, which was a lot faster than calling him on the phone.

“You need to come to the…”

His voice trailed off just as an overwhelming sense washed over me, making me stumble backward onto the couch. I closed my eyes and sat down, trying to breathe through the sensation. I knew this feeling all too well and I knew the only way to get through it was to not fight it.

I lowered my head and allowed the images to flash through my mind.

My mind was transported into a familiar room, the infirmary. A girl lay on the bed. She was surrounded by the other Elders, along with Dr. Cornelia. The girl on the bed was familiar, but I couldn’t figure out who she was. Her face was pale, and she had blood on her lips and clothing, making her almost unrecognizable.

Then, her eyes opened, and she was gasping for breath. Her eyes were a pale shade of gold as she grasped her surroundings. The terror on her face was all too familiar and then her eyes grew red with hunger.

A new vampire had just woken.

The image faded to black, and my mind was back in control. I took a steady breath. I realized from all the people I saw in that room, that Tessa wasn’t among them.

I had a nasty feeling about this.

Without another thought, I teleported myself to the infirmary. I landed just outside the doors. When I rushed in, Bernard wasn’t surprised to see me so quickly, none of them were. The girl remained in bed. She was being held down by Connor and Nate and she was struggling to be freed.

She wanted to feed.

“She needs blood to calm down,” I said, rushing toward them. “Anna, can you hunt for an animal and bring it here as soon as you can? It’ll be hard for me to grasp her mind if she’s out of control like this.”

Anna nodded and without another word she was gone.

The girl continued to struggle and wail out in pain. Fetting a closer look at her, I realized who she was and why I recognized her.

“Is that Ryan’s blood slave?” I asked, looking at Bernard bewildered.

He nodded grimly.

“He broke the bond. She would have died otherwise.”

“So, why not just let her die?” I asked, it was unusual for us to save a blood slave once the bond had been broken.

Typically, we would let them die, unless there was some kind of special connection with them. Like Bernard with Anna. He was in love with her even while she was a blood slave and he saved her from her old master.

But as far as I knew, this girl didn’t have any special connections with the other Elders.

“Tessa asked for us to save her,” Bernard answered without even looking at me. “The two have become sort of friends.”

Tessa…

“Where is she?” I asked, glaring at everyone. “Where’s Tessa.”

“She went for a walk,” Connor was the one to answer.

“What?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. “Alone?”

“Yes,” Connor said, glancing downward at the new vampire.

“How long ago did she leave?” I asked through my teeth. These assholes were supposed to keep their watch on her and they allowed her to leave?!

Anna allowed her to leave??

“Maybe 15 minutes ago,” Nate answered that time.

I felt the blood draining from my face and my heart nearly stopped.

“She’s been gone for 15 minutes, and no one thought to go after her?” I growled, fury rising through me.

This time, Bernard snapped me an angry look, his eyes glowing red.

“She was upset that I had to kill her friend in order to turn her into a vampire per her request. Your human was squeamish and left. I did what I had to do but she blamed me for the death of this girl. This is one of the reasons why I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to have her here as a guest. Humans can’t handle our lifestyle. So, no. None of us thought to go after her.”

It took everything I had not to attack him for speaking to me about Tessa like that, but I held myself back. It would end poorly for me if I were to attack the eldest.

Anna soon returned with a raccoon in her clutches, and she rushed toward the struggling girl.

“Here, drink—” she went to say, but her words were cut off when Fae grabbed the raccoon with her teeth and began to suck violently.

“Anna, did Tessa tell you where she went?” I asked, trying to keep my anger at bay.

She frowned and looked at me.

“No,” she answered, shaking her head slowly. “But she was upset. We mentioned that Ryan is to blame for Fae’s state, and she was pissed. She needed to clear her head.”

My heart fell into my stomach.

“She was pissed at Ryan? I thought she was pissed at Bernard?”

“At first, she was, but we told her the only one to blame is Ryan because he was the one who broke the bond. Fae would have died regardless…”

I was consumed with panic. Would Tessa be stupid enough to go after Ryan on her own?

“What’s wrong?” Anna asked, her brows creasing together. “You don’t think she’s in trouble… do you?”

I glanced down at Fae who had just finished draining the raccoon.

I bent down to her bedside, capturing her eyes. She was much calmer now with less pain. Of course, animal blood didn’t have the same effect as human blood and it certainly wasn’t as good, but it still did its job.

My eyes narrowed and she stared at me, unable to look away. I knew I had her in my trance.

“Stay here until I return. I won’t be long. Then, I will take you to where you belong. Understood?”

She nodded her head once but said nothing.

I pulled my gaze away, allowing her to flop back onto the bed and I turned to Anna.

“I need to find Tessa,” I told her firmly, walking toward the door.

“Joseph… do you think something happened to her?” She asked, and I could hear the panic in her voice.

I paused at the door.

“Just make sure Fae is safe,” I muttered, trying my best to keep my temper at bay. It won’t end well for me if I yell at Bernard's wife.

“Joseph…” she said in a desperate tone.

“I have a feeling I know why Ryan broke the bond with Fae,” I said through my teeth. “It’s because he wants Tessa as his blood slave. So, yes, Anna. I think she’s in serious trouble.”