Chapter 98

Tessa’s POV

“Don’t tell me you live in a castle, Your Majesty,” I half teased, unable to take my eyes away from the magnificent building.

“I do, but not full-time,” he answered. “That’s the Vamp House.”

“The Vamp House?” I asked, raising my hands. “It’s much more than a house.”

Joseph laughed.

“Yes. I suppose we went a little overboard with it,” he said, shaking his head at whatever memory was surfacing in his mind. “But it needs to be big for the tribe.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. “Does the entire tribe live there?”

“A lot of people live there,” Joseph explained. “I have an apartment on the second floor of the Vamp House and Carter has his apartment on the third floor that he shares with Nathanial, both of them being single and always busy with work, so it’s easy for them to share the floor. But they also have their own homes that they live in most of the time. The rest of the floors are reserved for the warriors and other vampires who don’t have their own homes. Most of the village workers live there for convenience. It’s also where we hold all our events and meals.

I wondered what the rankings were and if it had anything to do with the floors they lived on. But I decided not to ask right now.

“I see,” I said, still gawking at the building.

“Our days and nights are reversed here, obviously. So, around 7 p.m., our chefs make a grand breakfast buffet for everyone in the village. They clean up around 8 pm. Then, at 4 am they make a grand dinner buffet. It’s not mandatory to attend either meal, but it’s there if they don’t feel like cooking for themselves. Everyone in the village is welcome to enter the Vamp House. But they can only stick to certain floors. The top few floors are forbidden for anyone besides assigned maids.”

“Because they are your apartments?”

Joseph nodded.

“Yes,” he answered. “But we aren’t going there right now. I’m taking you to my personal house.”

“You have a house too?” I asked, raising my brows.

He nodded.

“Yes, most of the older vampires have a house for privacy purposes. If we need to be close to the villagers or find ourselves stuck at work, then we stay in our apartments. Our offices are also in the Vamp House.”

That’s’ when I realized we were driving toward a forest. There was a large pathway, big enough for a car to fit in though, and that’s exactly where Joseph was heading. I gulped loudly as we entered the forest.

It was around 6 a.m., so the sun hadn’t completely risen yet. The town area was completely vacant, so I’m assuming almost everyone was inside and preparing for when the sunlight came.

The woods were incredibly dark, and I heard the loud cooing of the owls somewhere deep in the forest. The crickets grew louder too.

I wasn’t used to wooded areas, especially at night, so I felt especially nervous.

Thankfully, we weren’t in the woods for long.

I mean, technically, we were surrounded by them. But he drove through a clearing and it opened, making it less wooded.

I gasped when we broke through the clearing.

I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to see.

Through the clearing, I saw the most incredible and luxurious houses, all made of wood and stone. Each house had a bushel of flowers and very green grass. Whoever did their landscaping was incredible at their job.

A string of lights, like wires on a telephone pole, canopied over the area, making the entire place light up with life even during the darkest times.

When I looked up at the lights, I realized that there was also a house at the top of the trees. There were wooden bridges that connected each platform, making it easy to go from treehouse to treehouse. There were green vines as well, that looked to be for climbing and swinging possibly.

On the trunks of the trees were ladders and even more lights.

In the center of the neighborhood, I’m assuming it’s called a neighborhood, was a big stone fountain, and in the center of the fountain was the statue of Nyx.

Joseph parked the car as soon as we broke through the clearing.

“We have to walk from here,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt. “It’s not far. I’m only a few houses away.”

I nodded and unbuckled my seatbelt as well. I got out of the car right after Joseph did, feeling my nerves get the best of me. While Joseph grabbed my things out of his trunk, I couldn’t help but look around at the gorgeous scenery.

I wasn’t expecting a vampire village to look so beautiful.

Then again, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting.

I didn’t see any vampires though and only a couple of houses had lights on. Were they all sleeping already?

“It’s beautiful here,” I said out loud as Joseph joined me.

“This isn’t even everything,” he said, staring off into the distance.

He pointed to a small clearing on the other side of the neighborhood, just past the fountain. It looked to be a small pathway, definitely not big enough for a car.

“Just down that path is a hill. Go down the hill and you’ll find a freshwater river along with a hot spring. Gets a really nice mountain view too,” Joseph explained. “I’ll show it to you tomorrow.”

I beamed at his words.

A hot spring?

That’s unexpected.

As we walked through the town, I noticed the dirt ground was hard like cement. But it was definitely dirt.

I frowned as I peered around. It was awkwardly quiet.

“I wasn’t expecting there to be nobody here,” I said, peering up at him.

Joseph looked almost annoyed, but I couldn’t figure out why.

“Oh, they are here,” he muttered. “They are just hiding in plain sight.”

I raised my gaze to him, my eyes widening in shock.

“You mean they are watching us?” I asked in a hoarse whisper.

Joseph didn’t have to answer. I soon saw a shadow movement in the corner of my eyes, and I quickly turned to see someone backing themselves further into the shadow region. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I didn’t get a good look at them, but I saw their pale complexion and their dark eyes just before they disappeared completely.

Then, I saw one of the green vines that sat on the tree move and another shadow at the top of the vine.

I suddenly felt very watched and incredibly uncomfortable.

“How many are there?” I found myself asking, my voice coming out weak.

I hated how frightened I sounded.

“A lot,” he murmured. “But don’t worry. They are just assessing you. They know they aren’t allowed to touch you, or they will have to answer to me.”

Joseph said that last part loudly and I heard more movement in nearby bushes.

I stepped closer to Joseph, wrapping my arm around his, not wanting to let him go.

If I couldn’t get these vampires on my side, I could kiss any chance I have with Joseph away.

We soon reached a large house, and like the others, it had beautiful flowers out front. It wasn’t as big as his Villa in the city, but it was gorgeous and perfect for just him.

He reached into his pocket to grab his keys and once he got the door open, we stepped inside. He turned on his light and I gasped when I saw the man standing in the middle of his living room.

He was a tall gentleman with large muscles and dark hair. He was shirtless, so I saw the tattoos that occupied his large biceps and his chest. His hair went down to his shoulders, and it was as black as night. But it also looked incredibly silky and well-managed. His eyes initially appeared black, but as the light shined down on him, I realized quickly that they were dark blue.

He was staring at Joseph with a disapproving look and Joseph didn’t look the least bit phased. But I could hardly breathe being this close to another vampire.

I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

“Bernard…” Joseph greeted, throwing his keys on his coffee table.

Upon entering the house, we were immediately in his living room. It was a basic living room with a large couch, a loveseat, and a reclining chair. There was also a large fireplace with a giant flatscreen TV that rested on the wall above it. There was a large bookcase, which didn’t surprise me, and a desk that sat in front of a large window that overlooked the fountain and statue of Nyx in the center of the neighborhood.

There was a door on the far side of the room which I assumed to be a bathroom. There was an archway on the far side of the room that appeared to lead to the kitchen and in the kitchen, I saw a large set of stairs that curled to the right, which probably led to the bedrooms and maybe another bathroom.

“When Carter told me you were bringing back a human, I didn’t want it to be true. But here you are… with a human,” the vampire, Bernard, said through his teeth. His tone was dark and sent a chill down my spine.

“And I also mentioned that she’s to be treated like a guest,” Joseph said, staring at Bernard without blinking like he was daring him to do something.

“You shouldn’t have brought her here,” Bernard said, pressing his lips together.

Joseph had mentioned Bernard earlier and said that he was a friend, but he didn’t seem very friendly.

Bernard looked to be an older gentleman, maybe mid-50s.

“Tessa, let me introduce you to Bernard,” Joseph said, his tone indifferent and his eyes never leaving Bernard’s. “He’s the one who turned me into a monster.”