Chapter 101

Tessa’s POV

I suddenly couldn’t breathe.

The human girl walked by so casually and our eyes locked. She looked at me with curiosity in her gaze and then her eyes went straight to Joseph who appeared to not have noticed her. The vampire she was with muttered something to her and I watched as her face paled.

She bowed her head low to him and his eyes met mine. An icy chill went down my spine and it was taking everything I had not to grab Joseph and hide behind him. Then, the strangest thing happened.

The vampire draped a protective arm around the human and pulled her close to him. She instantly went into his arms and remained by his side as they continued to walk in the direction of the Vamp house.

My mind was whirling with confusion. It seemed like they were very much together, but I thought vampires couldn’t be with humans.

I wondered how many other humans were here and why it was kept from me.

“Why didn’t you tell me there were humans here,” I murmured, stepping close to Joseph and trying to keep up with his fast movements.

I felt his body tensing from beside me. I knew there was something else he wasn’t telling me and now I feared what it could be. He wouldn’t have brought me here if it was dangerous. Right?

“It’s kind of a complicated story,” he finally said after an eternity of silence. “You’ll hear about it soon enough. But for right now, it’s better if you didn’t.”

“What does that mean? You don’t think I can handle it?” I asked, slightly offended.

“It’s just a lot of information. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“Maybe from the beginning,” I suggested, my annoyance lessening when I saw on his face that he was having a silent battle with himself.

“But I know someone who can explain,” he said, peering over at me. “But for right now, let it be a mystery.”

My frown deepened. I didn’t like that, but I also didn’t argue with him.

The Vamp house came into view, and I was suddenly incredibly nervous. I was about to walk into a house containing vampires. Since arriving yesterday, the few that I’ve encountered were staring at me like I was on their menu for lunch. I could hardly imagine what they were going to say when I walked into their safe zone.

“Hey…” Joseph said, peering down at me with a kind smile.

We had stopped walking and now he was facing me. He traced my jawline with his thumb, running it across my bottom lip and cupping my chin in his grasp, bringing my gaze up to meet his.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Tessa,” he assured me gently. “Trust me.”

My anxieties melted away instantly. It’s insane the kind of power he has over my body because I instantly grew weak knees. Thankfully, he was standing close enough that if I fell over, he was going to catch me.

He entwined his fingers through mine and pulled me along with him until we reached the Vamp House.

The house was even bigger up close. I couldn’t even call it a house. It was a palace. When we stepped inside, we were met with the cleanest marble flooring I had ever seen. Actually, it was the only marble flooring I had ever seen.

There was a giant crystal chandelier hanging over our heads and a large spiral staircase. There were a couple of people talking in the corner and they looked to be in a deep conversation. That is until we walked in.

Or more specifically, until I walked in.

Soon, their eyes were in my direction, and I watched as they narrowed. My heart began to beat rapidly in my chest and the palms of my hands grew incredibly sweaty.

Joseph followed my gaze and his frown deepened.

He didn’t say anything though. He grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him.

We went down a wide hallway until we reached a set of large double doors. I knew we were near the kitchen because I could smell the food. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until we arrived, and my mouth began to water.

It smelled so good.

Joseph opened the doors, and I was astonished by the number of people that were flooding the area. The smell of the food slapped me in the face, and it was almost overwhelming.

It was a big dining hall that almost looked like a cafeteria with a large number of tables and chairs that were set up all over the place. Like the main foyer, there was a giant chandelier that hung in the center of the room, sparkling with gorgeous crystals.

In the far corner, I saw a statue of the goddess Nyx with pictures of what looked like a gorgeous valley hanging on the wall behind her.

Most everybody was talking amongst themselves. Much like high school, I could tell there were friend groups and cliques.

I was amazed by how many people there were and my suspicions about humans living here were confirmed because I knew almost right away that not everybody here was a vampire. Most humans were talking amongst themselves and paying me no attention, but some of the vampires were glancing my way almost immediately.

I know my blood is attractive and they could probably smell it right away. But Joseph assured me that I was safe, so I had to trust him.

On the far side of the dining hall, I saw where they had set up the buffet of food, which was the direction Joseph was walking.

The closer we got, the hungrier I grew. There was a small line already formed, but when they saw Joseph approaching, they stepped aside and allowed him to go first. Joseph grabbed himself a plate and then handed me one as well.

I smiled my thanks to him, trying not to let him see my utter nervousness.

Looking at the food, I was amazed by how good it looked.

There was every kind of breakfast food imaginable.

Scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles, French toast, sausage, bacon, fruit salad, a bowl of regular fruit, grits, oatmeal with a variety of toppings, there was even an omelet station where a chef was making omelets on the fly. There was so much more that I could hardly wrap my head around.

I fixed my attention on the coffee station though. There was an espresso machine and everything.

“Grab as much as you like,” Joseph said as he helped himself to some pancakes and bacon.

He didn’t have to tell me twice.

I started with the eggs and went down the line until I could physically fit no more food on my plate. Then we headed over to the coffee station and I made myself a mocha late using the machine. Joseph made a regular black coffee.

Once we had everything we needed, I followed Joseph around the dining hall until he found the table he wanted to sit at.

At the table, I recognized the man from last night. Bernard. Joseph’s neighbor and also the guy who turned Joseph into a vampire.

Beside him sat the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. She looked like a goddess. She had long sleek back hair that curled around her shoulders and flowed evenly down her back. Her eyes were big with long lashes and the color of green emeralds. She had olive skin, and it was completely flawless. She was thin but had curves in all the right places.

What really stood out though were the markings on her face. They were like dark blue tattoos that crowned her face. They started on her forehead and fell around her eyes, framing her features. They reminded me of waves going around her face and they complimented her so well.

She was talking with Bernard and another gentleman who sat in front of her. He looked almost boyish with his messy blonde hair and lopsided grin. Like Joseph and Bernard, he was very muscular, and from a distance, it looked like he had some tattoos on his arm.

He had light brown eyes like milk chocolate and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. He was the one who seemed to be talking the most. Bernard was laughing and shaking his head at whatever he was saying but they all fell silent when we approached.

Bernard went from laughing to the look of fury before he rose to his feet.

“Why the fuck would you bring her here?”