Chapter 76

Tessa’s POV

My heart was pounding violently in my chest as I stared up at Joseph. We shared a kiss in the heat of the moment that set my entire soul on fire. His touch sent warmth throughout my body, and I knew my face was probably the color of an apple.

The kiss was short, but it was sweet. His lips fit perfectly against mine and he cradled me in his arms like he was afraid I was going to break at any moment.

At that moment, nothing else mattered and it felt like we were the only two people in the room. I tuned out the sounds of Mulligan yelling for his men to search the rest of the premises. I ignored Mulligan trying to get Joseph to get me out of here.

Nothing else seemed to matter.

His eyes were on mine, and I could see the questions circulating in them. I wondered if he felt the connection as I did, or if it was all in my head.

“Joseph?” Mulligan said, stepping beside him. “Did you hear me? You need to get her out of here.”

Joseph blinked, finally pulling his gaze away from mine to look at Mulligan. We were both still sitting on the ground and tears still stained my features.

I tried quickly to wipe them away.

“Yes,” Joseph said as he stood to his feet. “We’ll be going soon. She needs to get her things.”

He didn’t look at me when he said that, but I knew he was telling me to pack my stuff. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to feel my legs to walk though, so I remained on the ground for a moment longer, trying to steady my rapid heartbeat.

“Tessa, it’s not safe for you here until we know we got all the vampires,” Mulligan explained, his tone firm and urgent. “We need you to go back to Joseph’s house until we give you the word that everything is clear.”

I managed a head nod and pulled myself to my feet, almost falling over in the process.

I looked at Joseph one more time. He wasn’t looking at me at all.

My heart ached but I tried not to show that on my face. I turned away without saying a word and went back to my room so I could pack up.

When I was done, the living room was cleared except for Joseph who sat on the couch, waiting for me. When he saw me coming, he stood up quickly and looked at me briefly.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I answered, my voice coming out hollow.

He turned away and walked toward the doorway. When we got into the halls, Mulligan was there talking to Jordan.

“Joseph will escort them to the vampire academy when he gets the chance. In the meantime, we should expand our search around the city. There were about 4 new vampires, which means there could be more.”

Jordan nodded.

“I’ll get on it with the others,” Jordan agreed.

4 new vampires.

The thought that someone was creating new vampires with such ease was unsettling. Joseph had told me that humans tend to die during that process and that creating new vampires was very difficult even for an elder vampire.

I wondered what kind of vampire created these ones.

“Don’t remove those cuffs on the vampires. It keeps them from using their abilities,” Joseph said to them. Not that the Nightwalkers needed to know, but I think that was more for my own mental ease than theirs. “I’ll return to get them once Tessa is safely home.”

Mulligan nodded in agreement before looking at me. He gave me a small smile. The first smile he’s given me all night.

“You did great, Tessa,” he said. He reached his hand out for me to shake. “I’m glad we got here on time.”

“Me too,” I said with a nervous chuckle.

He went back to talk to Jordan and Joseph went towards the main entrance. I followed closely behind him.

My mind was racing when I returned to Joseph’s car. The ride back to his house was quiet and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. I stared down at my fingers the entire time. They were still trembling. I wasn’t sure if they were trembling because I almost died, or because of that kiss. But I couldn’t stop replaying the kiss in my head.

The way I felt when our lips touched. It felt different than the first time. I couldn’t even explain it, but I had the urgency to touch my lips.

I stole a glance at him and saw how expressionless his face was. His gaze was fixed on the road before him, and his jaw almost seemed tightened. I wanted to ask him what that kiss meant and if he felt the same way I did, but I was crippled with the heavy weight of anxiety, keeping me silent.

When we finally returned to his Villa, he helped me bring my things inside. He was still so quiet though. I needed to figure out how to actually talk to him about this. I didn’t want this to be ignored. That kiss was too incredible to just pretend it didn’t happen.

At least it was incredible to me, telling from his face, it didn’t seem like he felt the same way. Joseph stood in the doorway of my room, leaning against the frame as I started to unpack my things.

“I’ll be back later,” he said, his tone professional. “I need to bring those assholes to the vampire academy so they can be domesticated. They need to learn how to be proper vampires, so they aren’t going around killing humans. They need to learn self-control and they won’t do that locked up in the back of Mulligan’s car.”

I nodded, unable to look at him. I feared if I looked into his eyes, or even looked at his face, I would start to break down. It would hurt too bad to see the disinterest on his face.

He left without another word, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I finished unpacking shortly after and I went to take a shower. After being touched by those vampires, I felt dirty. I scrubbed my entire body and washed my hair. Once I was done, I wrapped myself in a clean and warm towel before going back into my room to grab my pajamas.

It was only about 8 p.m. and I wasn’t tired just yet, so I grabbed my journal and made my way downstairs and into the living room. I curled up on the couch and opened my journal to begin writing.

I reflected on the events that had happened these last few days, leading up to my kiss with Joseph. I knew this was something I needed to talk to him about.

These feelings I was having, I couldn’t be sure if they were because Joseph was Christopher Moore, the professor who helped me a lot, or because he was a mysterious and probably dangerous vampire.

Maybe the thrill of Joseph being a vampire excited me a little too much.

…

Joseph’s POV

“We are vampires. We should be allowed to drink blood! It’s in our nature,” one of the new vampires scowled from the backseat of my car.

We’d been driving for about an hour and almost at the academy which was in the darkest part of the forest and hidden by the magic of elders.

They’ve done nothing but complain about the entire ride. I should have taped their mouths closed.

They were unable to use their abilities with the cuffs I had on them and that frustrated them.

“Vampires don’t need blood to survive,” I told them, peering at their angry faces in the mirror. “Once you are properly trained, you will realize that.”

They muttered other things that I chose to ignore.

Once we got to the forest entrance, I parked my car, and we walked the rest of the way. It took about 30 minutes till we reached the academy.

We were greeted by Edmond, one of the elders who runs the school.

“Are these all of them?” Edmond asked, staring at the new vampires with a displeased look.

“For now,” I answered. “Mulligan and the other Nightwalker officers are searching the city for more.”

Edmond nodded.

With one quick motion of his hands, a purple string of light was wrapped around each of their hands. A magical cuff that linked them all together and made it easy for transportation. A power that only elders had.

“Thank you as usual, Joseph,” Edmond nodded to me before turning away, pulling the new vampires behind him.

I didn’t stick around any longer. I needed to get back home and make sure Tessa was safe for the rest of the night. Until we got the okay from Mulligan, she was still in danger.

I hoped she would be sleeping when I got back. I didn’t want to talk to her about that kiss because I didn’t know what it meant. I was just as confused. I knew I couldn’t be with her in the way she might want and that would only break her heart.

I wanted to buy a little bit of time before I expressed that to her. I needed more time to think.

That kiss was an impulse decision because I was so relieved that she was okay. I hoped she understood that.

When I got back to the house, I went into the living room and paused when I saw Tessa on the couch with her journal propped open on her lap.

She was sleeping.

Was she waiting for me?”