Chapter 165

Tessa’s POV

If Mulligan hadn’t caught me, I would have fallen over from the force of Joseph jumping between Jordan and me.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Joseph growled with fury. “I’m going to fucking kill you, Jordan!”

Before Joseph had the chance to do anything, Carter swung his fist and punched Jordan right in the face. A small crowd of people took notice and jumped out of the way before Jordan’s falling body knocked anyone down.

I saw blood gushing from Jordan’s face, and I knew his nose was probably broken. Both Carter and Joseph stood over Jordan, breathing deeply through their noses like they were angry bulls.

I looked down and saw blood running down my forearm. I hissed as my arm stung painfully from the blood. The pocketknife had clattered to the ground and the sharp edges were covered in my blood. I grabbed my arm, trying to stop the bleeding before it began to drip onto the ground.

Mulligan was quick to jump in front of Carter and Joseph.

“I’ll take care of it,” Mulligan said through his teeth. “Just deal with her,” he said, motioning to me with his head.

“Ah, my nose…” Jordan wailed on the ground.

“You deserve worse,” Joseph growled.

“Shit,” Carter said under his breath when he finally took notice of my arm.

“It’s fine…” I said, trying not to sound in pain. I didn’t want them to see me being weak. “It’s just a scratch.”

“That is not a scratch, Tessa,” Carter said, crinkling his nose. “Ryan will certainly smell that though.”

Ignoring him, Joseph shoved past him and toward me. I braced myself for what he was about to do, but to my surprise, just as he did after I got into that fight with Amanda and Liz, he scooped me into his arms and carried me.

We walked through the crowd of people; he shoved past them with ease. It seemed as if they were parting seconds before he reached them, like the Red Sea. He held me close to his body allowing me to soak in his warmth and his amazing scent.

He always smelled so good. Like an open campfire. So warm and inviting.

I had one arm wrapped around his neck and the injured one cradled on my lap. I tried to position myself, so I didn’t get blood on him, but I feared it was unavoidable.

When I looked up at his face it was almost expressionless, and it made my heart feel heavy. My eyes started to water; I blinked a few times to get rid of the tears that desperately wanted to escape. I didn’t want him to see me crying over him; not again. I already made a fool of myself in front of him, I had to keep what was left of my dignity.

I just wanted him to look at me. I wanted him to tell me that it was going to be okay. I wanted him to tell me that he still cared about me and that we were going to be okay.

I opened my mouth to say something, but then he finally stopped walking. I realized he took me to one of the EMTs who was standing near their ambulance, preparing to treat some of the hostages once they were released.

The EMT he brought me to was a young girl in her mid-twenties and she hardly looked old enough to be doing this job. The others were men and they looked older and much more mature. I wondered why he didn’t bring me to one of them.

“Oh, God! What happened?” The young girl asked once she saw Joseph approaching.

“She was stabbed in the arm. She needs medical treatment right away,” he told her, placing me on the bed of the ambulance.

She didn’t waste any time, she rushed to get some supplies and returned to me within seconds. Joseph stayed with me for a moment longer; he stood close. So close that it was tempting to reach out and touch him. His eyes were fixed on the bank though; he was squinting at the rooftop.

I followed his gaze and I saw someone was attempting to use the ladder. They were trying to go from the fire truck ladder to the building ladder and it looked incredibly dangerous. A knot formed in my stomach watching them.

“You might need stitches,” The EMT told me, bringing my attention back to her.

“Do what you can to fix her,” Joseph said, distracted by the sight in front of us.

He didn’t stick around much longer; he soon went running through the crowd.

“Joseph!” I yelled after him, but it was too late. I lost sight of him completely.

“Try to sit still,” the EMT said gently. “I won’t be long. I’m going to numb it with some gel and then put in a few stitches before bandaging it.”

I sighed, not having any energy to speak or do anything other than sit there and wait for her to finish.The gel she placed on my arm was cold and stung my wound a little, but then it instantly started to numb. If Joseph and Carter didn’t get to him first, I was seriously going to kill Jordan for this.

Did he seriously think that was going to work out in his favor?

I had to look away when she started stitching my arm; but just like she said, it didn’t take long.

“It might scar a little, but nothing too serious,” she said gently.

“Thank you,” I said to her.

She nodded as she began to dress my wound. I was already feeling better but I wasn’t really sure how I was going to explain this one to Ruby. My stomach clenched at the very thought of it; it was just going to be another lie to add to my collection of lies.

“So, that guy who brought you over here…” the EMT began. “Is he your boyfriend?”

Heat prickled the back of my neck as I stared up at her curious and very focused face as she continued to dress my wound.

“Not exactly,” I murmured.

“I see,” she said thoughtfully. “Is he single?”

My heart went crashing down into the pit of my stomach; I had to chew the inside of my cheek to keep myself from saying something I’d regret.

“Did I make you uncomfortable?” She asked, I could hear the bemusement in her voice, which annoyed me.

“Of course not,” I said, plastering a smile on my face. “But I really need to go now.”

I jerked away from her and stood to my feet.

“Thank you for your treatment,” I said, turning away and walking back toward Mulligan and Carter.

There was no sign of Jordan and I wondered if Mulligan sent him far away from here.

I also realized there was no sign of Joseph. My stomach clenched as I looked at the building.

“So, it seems that Ryan is using Fae as his weapon,” Carter explained to Mulligan.

“How do you know this?” Mulligan asked.

“I can hear them talking,” Carter said, shaking his head. “So could Joseph. When we patrolled around the building their voices carried.”

“Where did Joseph go anyway?”

“Those local police who are trying to get to the roof are going to get themselves killed so Joseph went to help,” Carter explained. “We need them to stand patrol at every entrance. He’s planning on going into the building.”

“Is there anything we can do in the meantime?” Mulligan asked.

“Set up some extra patrol around the building. Nobody is to move until Joseph gives the clear. Ryan isn’t alone in there. He has Fae, which is a new vampire, along with some rogues. We can smell them.”

“Rogue vampires?” Mulligan asked, furrowing his brows together.

“Yes. They are inside the building. They are feral creatures,” Carter explained, staring back at the building. “That's why it would be dangerous if we went in without a plan. Joseph seems to think he can sneak in from the rooftop, but I fear they’d be able to smell him. I told him not to go in without me, so for right now he’s setting up patrol on the rooftop entrance while we set up patrol on the ground.”

My stomach clenched at his words.

“Do we know what Ryan wants?” Mulligan asked.

“I think he wants to become a rogue himself. It would make the most sense,” Carter answered. “Only an elder can turn him into a rogue. So, this could be for attention. But we won’t know until we get in.”

“Why would he want to be a rogue?”

“By vampire law, once a vampire goes rogue, they can go wherever they want if it doesn’t cross any taken territories. They are exiled. Ryan would be completely on his own and shunned by other tribes, including his own. Usually, Elders would turn the vampire rogue after they had paid for their crimes in the prison. Once rogue, they are unable to rejoin another tribe,” Carter explained. “However, if he were to commit another crime in the future then he can be arrested again and sentenced appropriately. Whether that’s life in prison, or in most cases… death. There’s a specific section in the prison for rogues and once they go there, they are never seen again.”

“Do rogues have vampire abilities as well?”

“They have basic vampire abilities,” Carter answered. “They have speed, strength, sight, and smell. But they wouldn’t have any special tribe magic or abilities.”

“Tribe magic?”

“Special abilities are given by the moon goddess,” Carter explained. “It varies on the tribe. We call it tribe magic because if you are no longer part of that tribe, your abilities will no longer work. The loss of their tribe's magic and the isolation can make any vampire feral. They will eventually lose their humanity. They are also more sensitive to the sun and tend to live in hiding. Occasionally they will break the law and try to sneak onto our territories to steal supplies from us.”

“Why aren’t rogues more known? Should we be wary of them?” Mulligan asked the question that surfaced in my head.

“They are rarely seen during the day,” Carter said, shaking his head. “Like I said, they are more sensitive to the sun. Their main diet is animals because they are easier to get without leaving a trail and without leaving the comfort of the forest. But they also target werewolves.”

“Werewolves?” Mulligan asked, raising his brows. “Why is that?”

“Werewolf blood is powerful. It will make them stronger, and it tastes roughly the same as human blood with a little animalistic tang.” Carter paused and then added, “Or so I’ve heard.”

There was a pause, before Carter added, “The more powerful the wolf, the more powerful their blood. Sometimes it can even give the rogue vampire special abilities of their own. Those are the most dangerous types of rogues. But werewolves are also known to defend themselves and their own. They travel in packs so getting to drink from one is risky and difficult without being killed.”

“We have the building surrounded,” one of the local police officers said over the megaphone, averting our attention. “Come out with your hands up.”

“They have no idea what we are dealing with,” Mulligan muttered.

If the building had rogues inside of it, I doubted Joseph was going to be able to fight them, Ryan, capture Fae, and save the hostages by himself.

He was going to need some help.