Chapter 270

Tessa’s POV

My mouth fell open.

How did he know me?

With a racing heart, I found myself stepping closer to Joseph, trying to keep my body from shivering out of control. Joseph was still tense as he stared up at this man; I had so many questions, but I was too stunned to speak.

“Elder Baine, it’s good to see you again,” Joseph said, ignoring his question.

This man, Baine, kept his eyes on me as he assessed my features. His eyes traveled from my head to my toes, and I never felt more exposed in my life. Something about the way he stood, and his aura screamed power and I fought the urge to bow to him as he poured his eyes into me.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I lowered my gaze, dropping it to the ground. I wasn’t sure why, but something inside of me was telling me not to look this man… this vampire elder… in the eyes.

“Answer my question Mr. Evergreen,” Baine said, his lips pressing in a thin line. “Tell me why you brought a witch to my headquarters.”

He must have been the big boss around here.

If Joseph was nervous, he certainly didn’t seem it. He held his head high and looked directly at Elder Baine, I found myself sucking in a sharp breath from his boldness. But he spoke in a clear and strong tone of voice.

“Tessa is my fiancé. She’s here to pledge her allegiance to the vampire clan,” Joseph told him.

Baine’s brows shot upward, and his lip curled; he never broke his eyes from me, and even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could feel the intensity of his stare burning a hole in my flesh.

“You are wedding a witch?” Baine asked his tone incredulously.

“Yes, sir,” Joseph said, tightening his hold on my hand.

I finally lifted my gaze and tried to speak in a calm tone, but I knew they could hear my nervousness as if it was standing right next to them.

“How do you know me?” I found myself asking.

He stared at me for a long while, bewildered that I spoke most likely. His eyes only darkened, and his black hair remained unmoved around his features as a soft gust of wind blew around us.

“I am the head of the council; it is my job to know about my enemies. All of them.”

I swallowed thickly.

“With all due respect sir, I am not your enemy,” I told him, way more confidently than I felt.

“You are a witch. All witches are our enemies,” he spat and then he turned his attention to Joseph. “I won’t stand for the disrespect in my own territory Mr. Evergreen. Get rid of her, or I’ll do it for you.”

He was about to turn and leave, but Joseph’s voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Tessa could be a huge asset to you, Baine.”

Baine paused and he turned only slightly to look at Joseph.

“I highly doubt that,” he murmured.

“She’s not a typical witch. She’s special. Can’t you smell how different her blood is?” Joseph surprised me by telling him.

I didn’t think we were telling anybody about how special I was, and I was suddenly feeling very sick to my stomach. I didn’t like the idea of this stranger knowing things about me and I bit my lower lip nervously.

Baine sniffed the air and then his eyes grew red as he glared at me.

“What makes you special?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Joseph spoke first.

“Let her pledge to you first, and she will tell you everything,” Joseph was quick to say, which shocked me even more.

He must have sensed my shock from the way I was looking at him because he glanced in my direction and gave me a soft smile, along with a hand squeeze.

“You can trust the council,” he whispered, reassuringly. “They take care of their own.”

“But I’m not their own,” I whispered back, not caring that Baine could clearly hear us speaking.

“Once you pledge yourself, you will be under their protection,” he explained.

“Enough of this,” Baine growled, his eyes blazing a fiery red that made me take a large step back. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t terrified; I just wanted to run and hide somewhere. I was way out of my element. “You know the rules, Evergreen. I don’t want issues with the witch clan by killing this girl. But if I have to, I will.”

My body trembled from his words; he glared back at me and held up his hand. I suddenly found it impossible to move my own body. I gasped from the strange sensation and struggled against the hold, but to no prevail.

“What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly. “Let me go.”

My voice came out as a whisper because I could hardly breathe when he had such a hold on me like this.

“It would be so easy to just snap her neck and kill her on the spot,” Baine said with malice. “She’s weak and pathetic. She proves no value to me.”

I watched as he clenched his fists and as he did, I could literally feel his hands around my neck, squeezing my air supply shut. I struggled to breathe, but no air came to me. As tears filled my eyes, I could see dark spots clouding my vision and Baine’s strong composure standing before me.

“Whatever coven you are from girl, make no mistake, they do not scare me. I will allow your body to be a warning to them to stay away from my vampires. Do not mettle in my affairs,” he continued to speak as he clenched his fists tighter.

The pain was too much for me to take. Joseph was trying to help me breathe but his soothing words and comforting touch were drowned out completely. Baine kept my attention on him as he spoke those cruel words and made it impossible for me to breathe.

I was pleading with my eyes for him to stop, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to stop until I was dead.

“It’ll be so easy to break that pretty little neck of yours. Your blood will ooze from you, and it’ll be for my taking. I’ll drain you of every last drop and then send you back to your coven in a box. All it’ll take is one flick of my wrist… and you will be dead—”

“That would be a huge mistake,” a new voice sounded from the doorway behind Baine, drawing his attention to the female standing behind him.

She looked pissed; she was glaring at Baine with her arms folded across her chest and her lips pressed in a thin line. He was breathing heavily as he stared at her and when her eyes found mine, she shot Baine another look.

“Release her,” she ordered, her voice booming across the lands.

Without a single thought, Baine released his hold on me, and air flooded into my lungs, making me cough pathetically. I nearly fell to the ground as I gasped for air. Thankfully, Joseph was quick to act and wrapped his arms around me, trying to soothe me and get as much air into my lungs as possible.

My heart was beating quickly, and I knew everybody could hear it.

The woman was older, maybe in her mid to late 50’s with silver curly hair that danced around her features and kind green eyes. But she was furious, that much was obvious.

“Elder Amayah,” Joseph finally said, addressing the woman who was glaring at Baine.

“Joseph,” the woman, Amayah, greeted. But her eyes never left Baines.

“Evergreen brought a witch,” Baine informed her through his teeth.

Amayah glanced at me, and I could see a sparkle of something in her eyes that I couldn’t read.

“I see that,” Amayah said, glancing back up at Baine. “And I see that you were just about to end this girl’s life.”

“You know the rules,” Baine mumbled. “Witches aren’t allowed on our territory. It’s against the rules.”

“Rules were meant to be broken, were they not?” Amayah asked.

Baine’s mouth fell open.

“No, they weren’t,” he said, sounding more annoyed than ever. “They need to be punished for this carelessly.”

“I’ve taught you better than that, my son,” she said to him, shaking her head in disgust, shaking her head as she stepped around him.

Son?

Amayah was Baine’s mother?

I tried to study them for a little longer, trying to see their resemblance, but they really didn’t look that much alike.

“You should do more research about those you kill,” Amayah said to him over her shoulder. “You are in the presence of greatness.”

“Hardly,” Baine muttered, sounding very childlike all of a sudden. “She’s nothing but a witch. There’s nothing special about her.”

“That is where you are wrong, Baine,” Amayah said, shaking her head at him, but her eyes remained on me. “This, my son, is Tessa Campbell. She’s the heavenly heart and the one we’ve been waiting for.”