The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 106

[Echo]

Monday morning, Rosario and Sean shocked me by announcing that they were together. I didn't know what to say. Dillon told me that there was no way to make a gay man straight. I asked after the way she acted last Monday.

I couldn't even tell anyone else what was going on or why their relationship was actually strange. I tried to talk to her mentally, but she just shook her head. It was really frustrating.

Things at home weren't a lot better. Everyone seemed to get more tense as the announcement ball grew close. Marius' lessons had all been on decorum for gatherings. I knew he wanted me to make a good impression on the other vampires, I represented him as much as I represented Victor.

Talia had started training with us in the morning. She was working with me on vampire fighting styles and working up my speed. She wanted me to be able to present myself as close to a vampire as possible.

I was taking extra lessons from her when I trained with her. I had projects to work on for the end of school with presentations, and we still had to study for final exams. Most evenings, Gray was working, so I was alone with Victor.

He was excited about adding Maeve's information to what we had. Talia was writing down and piecing together all of the facts that were brought in, while Finn was researching and trying to find the person who could answer his questions.

-

Victor had to go run an errand on Wednesday night. I was in his office, working on my projects for school. Gray wouldn't get home until after eleven. I didn't know when Victor was coming home, because of the nature of his errand.

The office door opened as I was working on the PowerPoint slides for my presentation in English. I looked up and Finn came in. I wasn't as nervous around him as I used to be.

"How can I help you, Finn?" I asked.

"You look so cute. Like a little boss lady." He snickered.

"Finn. I have a lot of school work to do before Marius comes to do my training." I sighed. "If you're wanting to goof off, do it with Dillon and Jean-Claude."

"I wanted to talk to you about something you can do for the curse team." Finn said seriously.

I closed my computer and waved him over to the chairs in front of me. I wanted to help with the curse. I knew I could do something to make it easier. Finn sat in a chair and collected himself.

"What can I do?" I asked.

"I need you to find a way into the nursing home Fenton Aimes III is in. He's the one with no kids, but my senses started going crazy lately. He's the key to finding out how to break the curse. Only family can go see him. I need you to find an in with one of his sister's grandkids." Finn told me.

"I'll do my best. Gray says people really want to be friends with me. If nothing else, I can get Harmony to hypnotize them into liking her." I grinned.

"Good. I'm getting the info on the kid. I guess his family hides the fact that they used to be witches. You probably can't take that supernatural angle." He supposed.

"I can find a different way. I don't need that." I said.

"You can't tell Vic. He said he doesn't want you doing anything but the bare minimum. I want you working as hard as I do. Most of our good leads have come from you. I don't think that cutting you out will help our cause."

"I'll do anything to help Victor." I confided.

"Don't say that around other vampires. They would have no trouble using you for their own gain by telling you it will help Vic." Finn smirked.

"How do I know you're not just saying you need my help, but actually making me do all your work then?" I asked.

"You don't, but I'm not a power hungry bloodsucker. I'm a chill and relaxed bloodsucker. I have no motivation to use you. I don't want recognition, I don't want territory, I don't want Vic to owe me. I just want to help save his life." He said. "You're weird." I sighed. "I never know what to make of you."

"Don't try. I'm only here until we save Vic, then I'm moving on. You're going to see me from time to time, but it's best just to write me off as an inconstant person, like Vic does."

"What else can I do?" I asked.

"You have lunch coming up with Maeve, right?"

"On Saturday with my sister and brother, too." I replied.

"I need you to see if she remembers anything about the name of the family Grace married into. I can't find that anywhere. With luck, one of her kids might be alive and able to tell us something. If Fenton made her forget, then she would have gone on with her life after being taken away. Which means there might be someone out there who's a direct descendant of her." Finn told me.

"If she forgot, then there's a good chance that they wouldn't know anything." I reasoned. "If you feel like this won't be a bad lead, I'll see what I can do. Do you need help finding the family here that we're looking for?"

"No. I'm just pulling together all of the info that I can before I set you on the kid. I'll get you his name as soon as I can." He said.

My phone started ringing at that moment. I checked it to see if it was Victor or if Gray was calling on his break. It was Harmony.

"My sister is calling. Just give me a minute."

I answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Our uncles are here at the pack house, Echo! They want to meet you. Trent told them you manifested some of your werewolf blood and they want to see you." She said quickly.

"Victor's not here. I can't really leave." I told her.

"Have Dillon drive you." Finn suggested. "You should go meet your uncles."

"I'll see what I can do. I'll text you." I said to Harmony.

"Okay!" She replied and hung up.

"So many things going on." I sighed.

"I'll go get Dillon." Finn said.

"No. I'll just travel there myself. I don't want to cause problems." I sighed.

"Text Vic. He'll get freaked out if you're not here." He replied and left the room.

I texted Victor, letting him know where I was going and why. I also sent a text to Gray, even though he couldn't look at his phone during his shift. I didn't want him getting off early and worrying.

Afterward, I texted Harmony to let her know I would be there in a moment and to make sure no one was standing right next to her. She replied with 'ok' and I waited for a moment. I'd been practicing and I knew I should be able to make it to the packhouse without a problem.

Standing, I slipped my shoes back on and closed my eyes. I focused on the packhouse and on my sister. Once I was ready, I did my final steps of traveling, wanting to be there.

There was a collective gasp around me. I opened my eyes and saw Trent, Ben, Mike, Val, Harmony, Cam, and two men I didn't know. I smiled.

The first man was tall, like Val. He had dark brown hair and light brown eyes. He almost looked like Val, only his features were all wider and it looked like his nose was a little crooked. He smelled like wolf. The other man had black hair and hazel eyes that looked like Val and Harmony's. He was shorter than the first and slimmer. His scent was the more electric scent I had come to know as witch.

"Here she is!" Harmony grinned.

"Echo inherited the ability to travel to places she's been before from our sire." Val explained.

"Good evening, Alpha Padua. Thank you for having me." I said with a slight bow.

"Glad you could make it, Mistress Nightshade. I hope we're not pulling you from something important." Trent replied.

"Nothing is more important than family." I smiled.

"You look just like your mother." The second man said.

"I'm Samuel Williams. Your father's younger brother." Said the first man.

"I'm Preston Hayes. Your mother's older brother." Said the second.

"I'm Echo Nightshade. It's a pleasure to meet you both." I answered.

"Nightshade is the name of the vampire you live with." Samuel stated.

"Yes. I was his servant until he realized I was also his Solus Amor." I nodded.

"And she's also the mate of Alpha Trent's younger brother." Harmony added.

They looked at me in shock. I blushed. That really didn't need to be said at the moment, but I guessed it was better to be upfront.

I approached the men and put out my hand. The second man accepted it and had a firm handshake. The first looked at me oddly and sniffed the air.

"You smell different. Not wolf, not witch, not vampire. You smell like a mix of the three." He said.

"That's what I've been told by the wolves and vampires I live with." I replied, pulling my hand back.

"You and your sister look like my sister so much." Preston smiled. "And Valor here looks like our father. My grandmother said how much he took after her father. I guess you all got your looks from my sister's side."

"I see some of Adam and my mother in them. Not a lot, but it's there." Samuel said.

"Please, sit down. We have so much to tell you three." Preston took a seat and indicated the couch across from the chair.

"My Beta, Gamma, and I will clear out to give you all some privacy." Trent told me.

"Thank you, Alpha Padua. We appreciate it." I told him and bowed again.

"You're getting really good at the proper vampire etiquette, Echo. You almost seem like one of them." Trent winked.

"I just hope I don't embarrass myself on Saturday." I chuckled.

He patted my shoulder as he left. I sat between my sister and brother. They each took one of my hands. It was nice to be with them again, even though I just saw them at school.

"Your mother was amazing. She was a triple affinity witch. She refused an arranged marriage after she found out she was the mate of Beta Adam Williams. Melanie was a force to be reckoned with. She wasn't a wilting flower to go with the flow. Luckily, our parents weren't the type to force that sort of thing. Our grandmother told them how she came to love her arranged husband, but that it took years. She would rather Melanie have love from the start." Preston started.

"Daniel Darknight said that water witches told her accepting our father would bring something bad, but she did it anyway." I replied.

"Yes. I was already in my new home and new coven when she married him. I remember the witches warning. Something dark would come for the family. Ill omens everywhere. They also said their union would result in a supernatural triad unlike any other. With the power to do amazing things that no other triad could." Preston said.

"So they knew we would exist. Why didn't they just leave? They had to have known what would happen if they stayed." Harmony asked.

"Because your father was the Beta of his pack. You would have inherited that title if the vampire hadn't wiped out our family." Samuel answered.

"I would rather have had parents who didn't feed my sister to vampires and turn her into a slave." Harmony growled slightly.

Samuel snarled. "Selfish things like that are the reason we're in this situation. You have no idea what kind of man your father was. If he had thought of the pack and made the witch reject him, then my family would still be alive!"

"Don't talk to my sister like that!" Val shouted. "It's not our fault that the moon goddess paired our parents up!"

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and started rubbing circles on the back of my sister and brother's hands. I thought of calming things and tried to bring a soothing feeling into the room.

"Shh. You're all getting angry. There's no reason to fight." I murmured.

The tension seemed to leave the air. I opened my eyes and stared at the shocked look on Samuel's face. I'd managed to take the fight out of them.

"Mistakes were made. There were no good answers. There are a number of ways that we would have had a good life and our family would still have lived. That doesn't change the facts of where we are and what has happened." I said. "We can fight about it all we want, it won't change anything."

"She has a point. And your family wasn't the only one lost, Samuel. My coven was wiped out just like your pack was. There's no reason to scream at the children. They had to see their sister put in a difficult situation. It's not wrong for Harmony to wish our sister and brother had been there to take care of them. Melanie and Adam would never have let that happen to your sister." Preston assured us.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was still so upset about it. It's been almost eighteen years. I remember my brother sending me pictures of the three of you. He was so happy. He even said that he was proud his daughter would be the Beta of his pack and that it was time for a change." Samuel said quietly.

"Val is a triple affinity witch." I told Preston.

"Really? What are your elements?" Preston asked.

"Fire, water, and plants." Val said.

"Having fire and water is rare. It's certainly a blessing from the goddess." Preston smiled. "Are you willing to entertain the idea of meeting some girls who are double affinity or who carry an affinity you don't?"

"I don't want an arranged marriage, Mr. Hayes. I'll find love like my mother found my father. I don't want to have less than my sisters. They both have destined loves. I bet I do too." Val told him.

"Witches don't have that. My sister did, but that doesn't mean you will." Preston warned.

"If I hit thirty and haven't found a destined mate, I'll start meeting witches. I have hope. I know that it may be a lot to ask, but I want what they have." He shrugged.

"Maybe that's enough for one night. We're here for a couple weeks. I hope you three are open to getting to know us better. We don't want to apply too much pressure, you're all the family we have left." Preston said. "Aside from the families we made ourselves." "The reasons we weren't there when the vampire killed everyone we loved. I want to tear him to pieces." Samuel growled.

"I'll ask Marius what's happening with him. I'm sure he's being tortured. Marius said he would have to t*****e him for the insult." I told them.

"I hope he's suffering." Samuel said.

"I'll link Trent. We'll get you set up with guest rooms. You should rest after your journey." Harmony smiled.

Soon Trent arrived with a couple omegas to take our uncles to their rooms. I shook both of their hands before they left. I was happy we had some family again. They would grow to understand us eventually.

"I'm sorry, Echo. I didn't mean to get in a fight with him." Harmony said.

"I couldn't handle him yelling at Harmony about something so stupid." Val said.

"Ranked blood wolves. Even if we don't have a wolf, we have the ranked blood. Don't worry." I smiled.

I hugged my sister and brother tightly. They were holding me tight. I didn't really want to leave. I wanted to stay with them for the night, but I needed to go home and do my training with Marius. Dinner would be ready soon.

After saying goodbye, I popped back home, only to find Victor's chair occupied. His arms wrapped around me and I leaned into him.

"You're back." I giggled.

"So are you." He said, hugging me. "How was your visit?"

"Interesting. We could learn a lot from my uncles. I just hope they're open to sharing more."

"Dinner is nearly ready. Shall we go help set the table?" Victor asked.

"Mmm. Yes. I still have a lot of work to do to be ready for your ball." I sighed.

"Don't overwork yourself, Echo. I'm proud of you no matter what." He murmured and kissed my back.

I wiggled free and pulled him to stand. We kissed for a little while and then went to the dining room hand in hand. I wouldn't tell him about Finn's request. But I was more than happy to tell him about my new uncles.