Chapter 311

Tessa’s POV

I stared at Joseph in disbelief. I lifted my head and met his eyes.

“Are you serious?” I asked him, my voice coming out breathy. “You’d want them to stay here?”

“I can see how close you are to them,” he told me, his eyes filled with earnest. “And they seem to like it here. There’s plenty of room and that way you can keep an eye on them and help them.”

“And they can help me,” I told him in a whisper, deep in thought now. He was right; I needed this coven in my corner. This magic thing was new to me, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified.

I know Esme is going to help me practice magic, but I could use all of their help more than anything. I bit my lower lip, stifling a grin as I peeked up at the man I loved.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He smiled and brushed his lips gently across mine.

“You don’t need to thank me,” he said in return.

We didn’t talk much longer after that; I was so exhausted that I could hardly keep my eyes open, and Joseph looked tired. Not before long, we were both falling fast asleep.

I woke up to the smell of bacon and my mouth was watering. When I lifted my head, Joseph wasn’t in bed beside me. Telling from the sun attempting to peek through the tightly closed shades, it was morning.

Yawning and stretching out my arms, l slid out of bed and exited my room. I could hear some light chattering down the stairs and I slowly walked down the steps, trying to listen to what they were saying.

“I’m in need of some shopping therapy. I don’t think I picked out any of the clothes I own,” Amy murmured.

“I was thinking the same thing last night when I grabbed pajamas,” Hannah agreed. “I don’t typically wear pajamas that are so… um… lacy.”

“And see through,” Amy chuckled.

“Yeah, it was embarrassing,” Hannah whispered.

“I could go for some shopping,” Derek chimed in. “Maybe we could go as a group into the city.”

“We haven’t been exploring around here yet,” Bennet said. “I think that would be a great idea.”

I smiled at their words as I stepped into the living room, making them all turn to gawk at me like they were just caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing.

“I’d love to go shopping too,” I told them. “Let’s go together. We can take that big van of yours.”

Amy and Hannah lit up and started to squeal excitedly.

“Don’t forget, we have magic practice,” Esme said, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen.

I nodded.

“How could I possibly forget?” I teased, winking at her. “But shopping therapy is totally important too.”

“Hell yeah it is,” Amy agreed.

Esme smiled and shook her head.

“Breakfast is almost ready,” Esme announced.

I raised my brows.

“Who’s making breakfast?” I asked.

“Claira and Patty,” they all said in unison.

“They are kind of like our coven mothers,” Hannah said, shrugging her shoulders. “They always have been. I guess they really didn’t change much since being brainwashed. But they always cooked our meals.”

I frowned at her words as I walked into the kitchen to see Claira and Patty. Joseph was leaning against the counter, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing while speaking to Cole and Austin. They were both oblivious to my presence.

Laura was setting the table and sneaking glances at Austin. My brows raised to my hairline seeing the small blush that crept along her cheeks.

Interesting.

“Hope you’re hungry,” Claira said, peaking at me from over her shoulder. “We might have made a little too much food.”

Patty chuckled.

“You know you don’t have to cook meals for us, right?” I asked her. “It’s not your responsibility.”

They both shared looks with one another before focusing back on their tasks.

“We know,” Patty said, a fond smile on her lips. “But we enjoy cooking. Plus, it gives us a chance to talk with one another.”

“The kitchen has always been our safe place,” Claira agreed, her voice soft.

“As long as you know that cooking isn’t mandatory,” I told them. “But if you enjoy doing it, then by all means.”

I walked over to Joseph who grinned at me as he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me affectionately.

“Good morning,” he said against my lips.

“Good morning to you too,” I said in return. “I could get used to this. Having a full house, I mean.”

“It’s quite active this morning,” he agreed. “Everybody seems to be in a better mood.”

“I think it helps to know they aren’t alone,” I told him. “I’m glad I could be here for them and that they could be here for each other.”

He nodded in agreement.

“What are your plans for today?”

“Well, Esme and I are going to practice some magic,” I told him. “Then, this afternoon, I think we are going to go shopping as a group. Some of the others are wanting to get some new clothes.”

“I’d love to be a part of that,” Laura said, her eyes wide with excitement. “I hate the clothes I have currently.”

I smiled at her.

“We are going to take the van, so everybody is welcome to join us,” I told her.

The glance at Austin doesn’t go unnoticed by me, but he seemed to be too engrossed in his conversation with Cole to notice himself.

“Austin and Cole, would you be joining us on our shopping spree later?” I asked, bringing their attention to us.

“Shopping isn’t really my thing,” Austin murmured.

I notice the disappointed look on Laura’s face as she turns her eyes downward.

“Don’t you want a new wardrobe?” I asked him, raising my brows.

“I’ll pay for everything you guys buy,” Joseph said, digging into his pocket to grab a wallet. He shuffled through the wallet and took out his gold card. “This card doesn’t have a limit, so go nuts,” he tells me as he hands it to me.

I frowned.

“Are you sure?” I asked him. “They have money from various jobs they’ve worked over the years, and I have money too.”

“I’m sure,” he answered, pecking my lips with his. “It’s my treat.”

I smiled at him and leaned my head against his shoulder.

“Hear that?” I asked, peeking over at Austin. “You won’t have to pay for anything.”

Austin still looked uncomfortable and then Laura said, “It might be fun.”

Austin met her eyes and for a brief moment, I swear I saw something transpire between them.

“Okay,” he finally said, giving her a small smile. “I’ll come along.”

Laura beamed and I smiled.

“Breakfast!” Claira announced to the household.

Everybody gathered in the dining area of the kitchen; I was glad we got an extension for the dining table because of how many of us there were. We sat around the table and passed food to one another.

When someone handed me the plate of bacon, I was about to grab a couple of pieces, but then the smell made me feel sick to my stomach. I frowned at the plate, it looked normal, but for some reason, I wanted to vomit from the aroma.

“Tess?” Jospeh asked from beside him, studying my face questionably. “Are you okay?”

I swallowed and put the plate down.

“I think the bacon went bad,” I told him.

“I just bought it,” Esme said with a frown. “How could it go bad already?”

“It smells weird,” I said, trying to keep the vomit from rising in my throat. “Maybe it was already bad when you bought it.”

“It tastes fine,” Bennet said with a frown. “It’s actually delicious.”

“It tastes like bacon,” Cole said with his mouth full.

Joseph smelled the plate of bacon with a frown.

“They are right, it smells fine to me,” Joseph said, staring at me questionably.

I frowned at the plate and when I went to smell it again, bile rose in my throat. I covered my mouth and swallowed it down. That was a big mistake because it rushed back up even quicker.

I jumped out of my seat and ran to the bathroom. I heard Joseph yell my name and the entire table went silent. But I couldn’t speak because I had vomit collecting in my mouth and I needed to release it. I rushed into the downstairs guest bathroom and released the contents of my stomach into the toilet.

Joseph soon entered the bathroom, moving the damp strands of hair out of my face.

“Are you okay?” He asked with concern lacing his tone.

“I think so,” I said weakly. “I guess I’m just sick or something.”

“Do you want me to get you anything?” He asked. “Water or something.”

I shook my head.

“No, I’m okay,” I told him, trying my best to give him a small smile. “I just need a minute.”

He nodded.

“While you guys are shopping today, I’m going to work on my next novel,” he tells me, trying to keep my mind off things. “I have to go to the mountains tonight for a few hours as well, so I might not see you a lot today.”

I frowned.

“That’s okay,” I told him, trying not to be sad about it. I did have eternity with him after all.

He kissed my cheek gently.

“If you are still not feeling well after your training, you shouldn’t go shopping. I’m sure Patty and Claira can accompany them. Besides, Bennet and Cole are practically soldiers. They can make sure everyone is safe.”

There was a heaviness in my heart.

“I’ll be fine,” I told him. “Don’t worry about me.”

He still looked worried as he studied my face, but he didn’t argue.

He kissed my cheek gently and helped me to my feet once I was sure I was done vomiting. I quickly washed up before turning to the breakfast table. It seems they had forgotten about my mishap and were onto new conversations.

I put a couple of pieces of French toast on my plate and poured myself a cup of coffee. I think that’s all I could stomach for right now and the French toast was the only thing that didn’t smell weird.

While we ate, I decided to say, “So, Joseph and I were talking about it, and we think it’ll be better if you guys just live in this house permanently. This could be the new coven house.”

Everybody gawked at me.

“Really?” Amy and Lauren asked at the same time.

“You want us to live here?” Patty asked, raising her brows. “In this house?”

I frowned.

“Would that be a problem?” I asked, nervously. “If it is, then we can still look for another house. But I thought it’d be the easiest solution. I mean, there’s plenty of room and we like having you here.”

They all looked around at one another, questionably.

“It’s not that we don’t want to live here,” Bennet spoke up for all of them. “We like it here. I really like the basement apartment. But…” his words trailed off as he looked at the others for help.

“But if we lived here and used your house as a coven house…” Cole further explained. “It would kind of make you our coven leader.”

“Which we wouldn’t have a problem with!” Hannah quickly said, looking at the others who nodded along with her. “But is that something you’d want? Do you want to be our new leader, Tessa?”