Chapter 28

Tessa’s POV

The realization was in Joseph’s eyes as he continued to stare at me. Chief Mulligan was also staring at me, but his look was more out of curiosity than anything.

I stared between them both, very confused.

“Why are you looking at me?” I asked, a little worried clear in my tone.

“Because there’s something about you that’s special…” Joseph said, almost thoughtfully. My entire face warmed as he continued to stare at me. “I mean your blood…” he adds. “It’s addictive. It’s almost potent. So, when others are around you, they obtain your scent for a short while.”

“My scent?” I asked with a frown. “Like the scent of my blood?”

“Vampires have a very keen sense of smell,” Joseph nodded. “So, we can pick up the scent of a human easily.”

“So, what does any of this mean? What do vampire attacks have to do with me?” I asked, raising my brows.

“The victims…” Mulligan began slowly, meeting my eyes. “Have they been around you?”

I thought about it for a moment before nodding my head.

“The victims the other day were these hooligans that attacked me,” I said, shaking my head at the very thought and memory that surfaced in my mind.

“They laid their hands on you? Had physical contact?”

“One of them grabbed me and tried to pull me toward his bike,” I answered.

I didn’t want to remember any of this and was starting to feel uneasy. But Joseph didn’t stop Mulligan from questioning me. He stood back and watched with such curiosity it almost made me angry.

“And they were found dead soon after?” Mulligan asked.

I nodded again.

“They were found days later. But it was to be assumed the night they attacked me.”

“I see…” Mulligan said thoughtfully, glancing at Joseph.

The two of them exchanged knowing looks.

I folded my arms across my chest and pressed my lips firmly together. I was sick of their secret conversations in front of me.

“Is one of you going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked, annoyance clear in my tone.

“What about that girl that died… your classmate,” Mulligan continued to ask his question, completely ignoring my question.

“Morgan,” I told him. “What about her?”

“She was around you… but did she have physical contact with you?”

“I don’t think so,” I said, thinking about it for a moment.

I never touched Morgan.

However, …

“I lent her my cardigan earlier in the evening,” I told them. “She was cold, and she wore a sleeveless shirt. I was only being nice.”

They both looked at one another again before looking back at me.

“What?” I asked again, more firmly this time.

“Your scent was on her,” Joseph explained. “Just like your scent was on those bikers. You are the common denominator.”

“Are you saying I got them killed?”

A hard knot formed in my stomach. Did I cause them to die? I didn’t want to think about something like that.

“I’m not saying you got them killed,” Joseph clarified. “But your scent was on them when they died. Which is making me believe that the new vampires targeted them because they could smell you on them.”

“Why would they attack those around me and not just attack me, though?” I asked, still not believing what I was hearing.

“Because you’re a wild card,” Joseph explained.

“What is a wild card?”

“It means that we don’t know what’s wrong with your blood. We don’t know what effects it has and what makes it so addictive and attractive to us. The new vampires are probably just as confused and don’t want to take any chances until they know for certain. So, they are targeting those who get close to you enough to pick up your scent and satisfy the craving.”

“Do you think they are watching me?” I asked, furrowing my brows together.

“They could be,” Mulligan chimed in.

For a moment, I had forgotten he was there despite his recent interrogation.

“They seem to capture those who are around you quickly. When did you last see that Morgan girl before she died?” Mulligan asked.

“Maybe like an hour after she left, we got the phone call,” I explained. “I stayed behind because Professor Joseph wanted to speak with me about something and then my best friend called me to tell me what happened.”

“I see,” Chief Mulligan said as he thought more about that. “So, your scent was still fresh on her. Probably strongly considering she had your sweatshirt. Way stronger than the others, hence her being the main target.”

“If I gave my cardigan to anyone else, it could have been them…”

It wasn’t a question, but it still sat in my heart, weighing heavily on my chest.

It could have been Ruby. I live with her and—

I gasped as the memory came rushing back to me.

“Ruby’s apartment was broken into recently. Was that a vampire?!”

Mulligan rose his brows and looked at Joseph.

“Do you think they were looking for her?” Mulligan asked.

“It’s a possibility…” Joseph agreed.

“Why didn’t they attack then and there?” I asked, staring between them both.

“Something must have scared them,” Joseph said as he got lost in thought.

“I need to go. I have to make sure she’s okay. They could come back.”

“Not likely, if something spooked them the last time they went. They wouldn’t come back so soon,” Joseph assured me. “Plus, they don’t usually attack humans more than once a night. It would cause too much of a commotion for them and they could be found a lot sooner. They aren’t going to leave a trail.”

I felt a little calmer, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still in danger.

“She still shouldn’t be alone,” I said to them. “I would never forgive myself if something happened to her because of me.”

“This is all only theories so far,” Chief Mulligan reminded me. “We still don’t know for certain if your blood is what’s attracting these new vampires to attack those around you.”

“But it’s probable,” Joseph shrugged.

He seemed unbothered by this entire situation, which was mind-boggling for me because it felt like my brain was about to explode.

“I don’t understand why they can’t just attack me,” I said, staring between the both of them. My eyes filled with tears due to how frustrated I was feeling. “If they want me so badly, then why not attack me and leave everyone around me alone?”

“As I said they don’t know what could happen if they drink your blood,” Joseph answered. “Your blood could be toxic, and they don’t want to take that chance, at least not yet. If they figure out your blood isn’t toxic, then they will certainly attack you.”

“My blood could be toxic?” I asked, confused as I thought more about that. “Wait no… you drank my blood.” I reminded him as I shook my head. “My blood definitely isn’t toxic.”

“I know that, but they don’t,” Joseph said in return.

“But how did you know my blood wasn’t toxic when you drank from me?” I asked.

I ignored the looks I was getting from Mulligan while we had this conversation. I guess the cat was out of the bag. He now knew that Joseph had bitten and drank from me, which meant at one point I did have his venom inside of me. But now it’s gone.

“I didn’t know,” Joseph said with a shrug.

“But anyone who would have a one-night stand with a complete stranger is probably not that dangerous.”