Chapter 129

Joseph’s POV

Tessa was cleaned by the time I returned to her room. I just got off the phone with Connor and he was on his way back with Ruby.

Dr. Cornelia had finished washing the blood off Tessa’s body and bandaging her wounds. She was stable with many tubes attached to her frail body. She looked so peaceful like she was just sleeping.

It’s been a few hours since Connor had left and now, I sat here waiting for the moment he returned so her life could be saved.

The heart monitor began to beep like crazy; I jumped to my feet in alarm.

Dr. Cornelia ran toward us with a panicked look on his face.

“She’s crashing!” He told one of the nurses.

I stumbled backward as they worked on her. They ordered me to leave the room, but I could hardly hear them. My main focus was on Tessa and how well she was.

“Let’s go,” I heard the soft tone of Bernard as he grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the doorway.

I wanted to stay with her and help; I wanted to be with her. But I knew I wouldn’t do any good. Nothing could save her until she got that blood.

“I shouldn’t have brought her here,” I said, burying my face in my hands as I sat back in the waiting room.

I could feel Bernard's eyes on me from across the room, a timid frown on his face. He didn’t say anything though.

“This is my fault…” I breathed, shaking my head in misery.

“I know I’m hard on you, but don’t beat yourself up over it,” Bernard said, leaning back in his seat. “You have to have faith that she’s going to pull through.”

“I know…” I said, sitting beside him. “You were right though. This isn’t a place for a human girl. This proves that Tessa isn’t going to be able to stay here. When she recovers… I have to bring her home.”

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do about this relationship; I’m not sure if it should continue or not. But all I know is that I need to get Tessa as far away from the mountains as I can. I need to bring her back home so she can live her life as a human and not be put in danger like this again.

“Did you contact the academy about that new vampire?” Bernard asked, breaking through the silence that fell upon us.

I shook my head.

“Not yet,” I said, sighing.

“The sun will be rising soon. Probably should before it does.”

“What about Ryan? Any word on him yet?” I asked, glancing at Bernard.

“The full moon is tonight so he’ll be back this evening with the moonstone pendent. He managed to get one off the black market. I have warriors on standby for him. As soon as he returns, we will get him.”

I stood to my feet, grabbing my cell phone from my pocket.

“I’ll give the school a call.”

I walked outside, leaving Bernard alone in the waiting room. I could see that the sun was breaking through the trees in the distance, and it wouldn’t be long now before it had risen fully. I don’t remember the last time I fully slept.

My eyelids were painfully heavy, but I couldn’t bring myself to sleep knowing that Tessa’s life was hanging on by a thread.

Once Ryan makes himself known to me, I’m going to do worse to him than I did to that new vampire.

I quickly brought up the number for the vampire academy and called the board of Elders that runs the school.

“Hello?” An older-sounding man said on the other end of the phone.

“It’s Joseph,” I said, knowing he probably already knew who was calling. “I found the new vampire.”

“Excellent. When will you be bringing him here?”

“I’m not,” I said through my teeth; when he didn’t respond, probably due to shock, I continued. “He’s dead.”

I hung up the phone without another word, turning back toward the infirmary. Bernard was still in his seat, but his eyes were glazed over which meant he was talking to someone through the mindlink. An ability that Bernard had because he was the overseer; he was able to connect with all his tribe members through his mind as long as they were in range. He blinked a few times and then looked up at me.

“Anna wants me to return home for dinner. She says you should come too. You haven’t eaten in days. You could use some rest too.”

I shook my head and sat down.

“I’m not leaving here,” I muttered; I wasn’t sure how many times I had to say that.

“Depriving yourself of basic needs isn’t helping her,” Bernard said, keeping his tone calm. “If you don’t get some actual food in your system and rest for a bit, your mental state will decrease, and your body will start growing hungry for something other than food.”

I knew he was right; part of being self-disciplined and not craving blood is keeping a proper diet and remaining healthy. If I let myself go too long without eating a proper meal, or allowing my body a break, I’ll revert back to my craved days.

“Connor most likely found a place to stay for the day until the sun goes down anyway. He’s not going to be back until tonight. Let’s go back to place and get you some nutrition.”

I sighed but I nodded; there was no use in arguing with him at this point. I stood to my feet and went with him back to his house just before the sun rose completely.

Anna stood in the kitchen, looking exhausted, but when she saw me, a bright smile appeared on her lips.

“I was hoping you’d come,” she breathed. “I made dinner. Please take a seat and eat with us.”

I nodded and went to the table; I felt like a zombie. I didn’t realize how hungry I truly was until she placed a plate of food in front of me and my stomach started to growl angrily. I deprived it of food and soon I would become feral for blood.

It was good that Bernard convinced me to come here.

I kept my phone close to me in case Connor decided to reach out.

He hasn’t yet. I just hoped it wouldn’t take him much longer before he arrived. Tessa’s life is depending on him.

…

Third Person POV

Connor knew the likelihood of Ruby believing him about being a vampire was slim. As soon as the word “vampire” left his lips, her face had gone flat, and she looked almost pissed. She accused him of wasting her time and playing jokes on her.

“That’s not funny,” she said through her teeth. “What are you, some kind of creep?”

She turned away from him and was about to slam the door in her face, but his hand stopped the door from closing all the way. She whipped around, facing him with a fiery essence in her eyes that he found utterly attractive, but he had to keep a cool head because Tessa’s life was hanging in the air.

He knew the only way he could get her to believe him was if he showed her proof. So, he did what any sane vampire would do to convince a young girl that he was serious; he hissed at her revealing his sharp fangs.

She screamed and stumbled backward into her apartment, nearly falling over in the process. It wouldn’t be long now before her neighbors came to check on the commotion, so he quickly went into her apartment, closing the door behind her.

“Y…y….” She couldn’t speak.

She had fallen to the ground and was backing away from him in terror.

“Yes, I’m a vampire,” he told her. “As is Joseph. I know this is a lot to take in right now, but we don’t have a lot of time.”

“I’m dreaming. That’s the only explanation. I’m in a dream… or I’ve gone completely insane…” She was talking to herself now.

Connor rolled his eyes and bent down so he was at eye level with her.

“You are not dreaming. This is real. Your friend is in grave danger, and we need your help, Ruby.”

“T…Tessa?” She stammered, finally meeting his eyes.

He nodded his head once.

“Something serious happened and she lost a lot of blood,” he explained.

“Did… did you drink it?” She asked in a hoarse whisper.

It wasn’t an invalid question, considering what she had just learned. But he found himself offended by it.

“Of course not,” he said with a grimace. “If your friendship means anything to you, you’ll come with me to help her.”

She stared at Connor with large and terrifying eyes. He knew he was still trying to figure out if he was being truthful or not. Her body was trembling and for a moment, Connor thought she was going to spring to her feet and run away. Maybe it was a bad idea to come here after all.

Maybe Joseph overestimated Ruby and her friendship with Tessa.

Connor heard the shuffling of shoes in the hallway and soon, there was a knock on the door. Ruby’s body tensed as a woman spoke on the side of the door.

“Miss Ruby? I heard a scream. Are you okay?”

She was quiet as she stared into Connor’s eyes; it was now or never. Was Ruby going to ask this woman for help? Or was she going to blindly trust Connor and go with him to save Tessa?

When she didn’t speak, the woman spoke again.

“Are you in there, Miss Ruby? Do I need to call the police? I’m worried. That scream sounded bad.”Ruby took in a shaky breath and broke her eyes from Connor to look at the door.

“I’m okay, Colleen. Thank you,” she said, and Connor was impressed by how strong her voice was. “I just got spooked from a spider.”

There was a moment of hesitation before Colleen went away.

Ruby looked back up at Connor, narrowing her eyes.

“I’m trusting you,” she said firmly. “Take me to my best friend.”