Joseph’s POVI have never been much for company. I spent most of my nights alone. As a vampire, having friends seemed pointless. The friends I did have died long ago, just like everyone else in my life. I was used to the loss, though it made wanting to get close to anyone unbearable.The longer I lived, the more loss I endured.I wish to not be burdened with that dreadful feeling ever again.Meeting Tessa certainly wasn’t on my agenda when I moved to the city. But as I walked the mildly crowded streets and passed by her, the scent of her blood drew me in instantly. There was something about her that made me want to lose control.She was on her way to the bar. What she was doing at a callboy bar was beyond me. But she was with another girl, someone more ordinary, someone who didn’t capture my attention as Tessa did.When we passed, we locked our eyes. At that moment, it was like time had stopped. Her heartbeat quickened its pace, pumping the very blood that caused me to become ravenous

Joseph’s POVTalking to Tessa had become somewhat natural. It was a strange feeling and everything in my body was telling me to continue this conversation.She stared at me with wide eyes and for a moment, I wondered if I had said too much.“What do you mean by that?” She finally asked after what felt like a lifetime of silence. “You are attracted to my blood? Like a mosquito?”Her comparison took me by surprise, and I almost burst out laughing.“No,” I said, trying to hide the amused smile that surfaced on my lips. “I don’t go around biting humans and leaving annoying and itchy little bumps on them.”“Then what do you mean?” She asked a little more firmly and clearly annoyed by my teasing.“I mean I’m attracted to it. It’s akin to human love when they are alive. As long as the same blood flows through you, I would harbor feelings for you akin to love.”She looked alarmed by my explanation. I had definitely said too much that time. It was as if she had never heard those words before.

Tessa’s POV“She has the very same bite marks on her body as all the other victims around the city recently,” I pointed out. “Which means they really were vampire attacks. This whole time…”I peered up at him as he nodded his head once.“Yes,” he answered. “That’s why I’m here. To put a stop to that. The problem finding them and capturing them.”Knowing there are vampires running around the city sent a shiver down my spine.This death was too close to home. This was somebody that I knew and liked. This was my classmate. Just earlier this afternoon I lent her my cardigan that she was still wearing and is currently inside of the body bag with her.This could have been any of us.It could have been me.I wrapped my arms around my body, hugging myself tightly. I felt cold and ill at the very thought that vampires were lurking around, draining humans of their blood, and killing them.Joseph was a vampire, but he had said that he was highly trained. These vampires were considered new, and t

Tessa’s POVIs this why Joseph didn’t want to come with me to this examination? Because he knew this was going to happen?I felt humiliated that he didn’t give me even the slightest warning.I was even more humiliated because this woman I had never met before, Lisa, was staring at me and waiting for me to get completely undressed.“It won’t take long,” she assured me, a frown on her face. “I’m assuming they didn’t explain what this examination is.”“Not at all.”She sighed and shook her head.“I shouldn’t be surprised.”She went towards the counter and pulled out what looked like a flashlight.“This is a black light. When I turn off the lights and point this at you, it’ll show me all areas in which you could be infected.”“Infected?”“They really explained nothing,” she said, furrowing her brows together.“Vampires release a venom in their fangs when they bite a human and this venom will possibly turn you into a vampire if you are killed with it in your system. There are usually trace

Tessa’s POVI knew my entire face was incredibly red. He had this amused look in his eyes, despite his face being expressionless and I’m not sure how he managed to do that.The last thing I wanted was for Chief Mulligan to know about my one-night stand with Joseph, but here he was… putting it on display.Mulligan looked between the two of us with raised brows, saying nothing as awkwardness sat in the middle of the room. None of us spoke for a short while.I looked down at my feet, hoping that the heat would soon leave my face and it would return to its normal color.“I’m just saying—”“Shut up,” I said quickly, raising my gaze to meet his eyes.He looked at me for a moment longer before shrugging and turning back to Mulligan who stood before us awkwardly trying to avoid all eye contact.“Are you two done?” He muttered. “We need to find out if our theories are true. We have to figure out if it’s actually Tessa’s blood and scent that is drawing in these new vampires and killing those wh