The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 113

After the meal, Victor drew me away from the table. We spoke with Gareth and Grant briefly and Victor made an appointment with them to come to the house and be briefed on what they would need to do to start the agency for daylight servants. I thanked both men for sending their servants to help us last week and told Gareth how wonderfully Opal had done today.

"She can be a little forward at times. I hope she didn't make you uncomfortable." He said with a slight smile.

"Speaking with Opal is always educational for me. I truly enjoy her company. Perhaps she and Penny can come with the two of you and I could make dinner for them. I would love to see them in a more relaxed environment." I replied.

"That seems like an excellent idea, Echo. The servants of our higher ranked vampires are just as important as the vampire themselves. Our relationships with them keep the homes of their masters running smoothly." Victor answered.

Vampires didn't tend to give a lot from their expressions, but I was pretty sure both of them got excited about being called 'higher ranked'. Their eyes started glowing a little. I knew that meant they were feeling something strongly. I chose to think it was happiness. We talked to them for a little while longer before they excused themselves. More vampires would come up to talk to Victor and me. No one tried to get close to me. Vampires didn't often touch each other upon meeting, so no one tried to touch me until a young vampire came up with his sire.

He stuck his hand out and I felt a little badly for him. Victor looked at him as if he were an idiot, then raised his eyebrow at the sire who seemed disappointed. I smiled slightly at the embarrassed vampire.

"You must not be very old." I said sympathetically. "Vampires don't shake hands with other vampires. It's okay. I'm having trouble getting used to it too."

I wasn't telling the truth, but it seemed to make him feel better and he smiled brightly. I smiled back. He had to be very young.

"I only just got my mind back. My apologies if you took it as an insult." He bowed.

"It can be hard to get over your old habits when you truly start your second life. We will not take it as an insult." Victor replied. "I'm glad you were able to make it tonight, even though your memories haven't fully integrated yet."

"I wanted a chance to meet the Master of the territory. Thank you for allowing me to come meet you."

"Of course. If you'll excuse us, I see someone I need to introduce my Solus Amor to." Victor said politely before pulling me away.

To my surprise, he was taking me to the older man who had been staring at me. When I say that the man was older, he was the only one of the vampires who didn't look younger than my parents. He looked like he could be the father of some of these vampires, age- wise.

The man was as tall as Victor and had salt and pepper hair. His eyes were the same bluish green as the aquamarine in my ring, which was sitting at home. He turned to us and bowed deeply.

"Master and Mistress Nightshade. I'm pleased you decided to come see me." The man smiled.

"Echo, this is Dennis Lyons. He's the vampire who used to be a dhampyr that wanted to meet you." Victor explained.

I nodded my head to him. "Mr. Lyons, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Please call me Dennis. I know I look like an old human, but I'm a vampire in your territory. There's no need for honorifics with me." He assured me.

"If I might ask, how old are you?" I questioned.

"Well, I was three hundred when I died and I've been a vampire for four hundred years. As soon as I was free I got as far from my old master as possible." Dennis said.

I put my hand over my chest. My heart hurt for him. I could understand a little. I wanted nothing more than to get far from my parents when they sold me to Victor. My past couldn't have been more terrible than his was, though. "How long have you been in this territory?" I asked.

"I actually came out here shortly after this place was settled by humans. I was the night bartender at the saloon when it was built. This is my restaurant. It stands where the saloon used to. I bought the property and kept a business which would cater to vampires, but also be open to humans, right here. I also own 'The Neutral' which is an all species club and has been a neutral territory in the region for decades." He said.

"Dennis is one of the oldest vampires in the territory." Victor said.

"I'm only about four hundred." Dennis chuckled.

"You were a living vampire. The treatment of dhampyrs was appalling. You were as much a vampire as any of us." Victor insisted.

"You won't convince him otherwise, so it's best to just agree with him." I said softly.

"What about you, Mistress Nightshade. You were raised by your parents. You're just learning to be a vampire. How is that going for you? Is it a huge culture shock to go from human to vampire?" Dennis asked. "Um... well... I wasn't raised by my parents. My siblings and I were kidnapped and our parents were killed. They were raised human and I was raised as their servant." I admitted.

A sad expression crossed his face and he looked away. "I was hoping you'd had a better life than we did. At least you found your Solus Amor while you were alive. You can have the life all female dhampyrs deserved."

I reached out and took his hand, drawing his attention back to me. "Will you be my uncle, Dennis? I have a werewolf uncle and a witch uncle. I would love to have a dhampyr uncle as well."

He looked down at my hand on his, then up to Victor. Dennis smiled warmly at me and put his other hand over mine. Victor's grip on my other hand tightened.

"If Master Nightshade and Master Marius are okay with that, I would love it. My Solus Amor rejected me while I was still alive. I'm all alone in the world. No sire, no children. Are you sure you want me for an uncle?" He asked.

"Echo doesn't make this offer lightly. Whatever she wants, Marius and I shall give. She is in the unique position to get to make her family. Echo can sense other people's motivations and their true intentions. If she wants you for an uncle, then she senses that you are a good fit in her family. Please accept. It would mean a lot to her." Victor said.

"Then I will. Thank you for that, Echo." Dennis replied with a gracious smile.

We left him and were walking around greeting other vampires. It was getting a little boring. They always said the same things and asked the same questions. I started looking around a lot more.

The table we'd sat at and the trusted vampires' tables had all been cleared. Several people were dancing to the gentle music that played. I noticed that some men didn't wear ties, their collars were open showing their necks.

They were using this ball to socialize and find someone to love. That was wonderful. I knew it would make them happier and it would be easier for Victor to control them.

After a while, I excused myself to the restroom. I was a little glad for the garter belt because I didn't like the idea of wrestling with pantyhose in a bathroom stall. Victor told me to hurry back and I promised I would.

Once I'd finished, I got myself put back together and sat in the stall for a little longer. These heels weren't as high as the ones last weekend, but they still weren't easy to deal with. I was so used to being barefoot unless I had to put shoes on.

The bathroom door opened as I was scrolling through my phone and I heard voices. I decided to wait until they were gone to leave. I didn't want to be cornered without anyone to protect me. I still wasn't up to fighting. "So, what do you think of the new Master? He's so handsome." One woman said.

"Mmm. And deadly. He started killing as soon as he arrived. Have you ever heard of anything more attractive than a man who kills with such impunity? He knew just how to bring this territory into line." The other giggled. "Too bad he's taken. I wouldn't have minded a night with a man like that."

"There's no way she's his Solus Amor. No dhampyr has ever found their mate before their death. He's just using her for her connections. Did you see how much of the Council backed her? Having Death for your sire certainly has its perks. He'll be looking around as soon as the shine wears off." The first chuckled.

"Do you really think so?"

"Lacey, I think we should test how much of the shine is left on her. She's been clinging to him all night long. I bet he could do with some other companionship, some real women. She barely speaks, and, when she does, her voice is all soft and gentle. A man like that needs a woman who can take charge. What man could resist both of us?" She asked.

"Hmm. We'll have to be subtle. If we anger Master Marius, we could end up in his care." Lacey replied.

"Of course we'll be careful. And, if nothing else, we might even try for Master Marius. I can imagine he's going to be amazing in bed with how powerful he is. Bedding one of the High Council will certainly give us all sorts of opportunities." The first laughed. "Let's get out there. I don't know where Mistress Nightshade went, but, last I saw the Master, she wasn't glued to him. Someone else might be trying to worm their way into our territory." Lacey said.

I listened to them as they left, shocked. They were going to try and tempt Victor away from me? They didn't think I was vampire enough to keep him.

Quickly, I washed my hands and fixed my makeup. I wasn't going to miss this. I wanted to see what Victor would do. He was mine and I wanted to make sure he wouldn't chase after any other women just because I wasn't there. I didn't doubt him, but I had already seen Gray turn down girls at school. I hadn't seen Victor.

-

As quietly as I could, I made my way to where Talia was standing. She was talking to a few vampires. From where she was, I had a clear view of Victor. I grabbed a glass from a passing server and sipped it as I watched him.

The two women were beautiful. I thought they were probably more beautiful than I was. One had a trim figure and black hair. I could only see her from the back. The other had dark red hair and a curvier figure with larger breasts and more defined hips than her friend had.

They were talking to Victor and slowly moving a little closer to him. Both women wore their hair up and kept touching their necks as they talked to him. That didn't make sense to me, vampires didn't feed on other vampires. "They're flirting." Talia said in an angry tone. "Vampires bite during s*x. It's why the single ones aren't covering their necks. It shows that they're available. Those women shouldn't be flirting with him."

"Victor won't do anything." I assured her. "He loves me and I trust him."

"You're not feeling jealous?" She asked.

"Surprisingly, no. I'm more curious. They just looked like they were talking to him and touching their necks from time to time. I don't know a lot about vampire habits and things like that. It's like I'm learning." I replied. "Why would you need to learn how to flirt, Echo?"

"Sometimes I want to make Victor know I desire him without having to say it. Amy flirted with Lucien a lot and he flirted back. They've been together for almost a year. They do it because they like it and it makes the other one happy. With everything going on, I haven't had a chance to really figure out what my relationship with Victor will be like." I explained.

"So you want to watch him turn down those women?" Talia questioned.

"No. I want them to think they've won and then I want to go take my Solus Amor away from them. I want to prove I'm strong enough and that Victor's love for me is stronger than their s*x appeal." I growled a little.

"So you are jealous." She giggled.

"Maybe just a little bit." I laughed.

One of the women touched Victor's arm. He shooed her off of him. He looked annoyed. The women didn't seem to be heeding his expression much.

I handed Talia my glass. "He's going to start getting angry if they keep touching him. This isn't the place for that."

She nodded silently and followed behind me as I made my way over to him. I was stopped a few times by vampires who wanted to introduce themselves. I couldn't be rude to them, or I risked showing that I was affected. Marius told me I had to reign in my emotions tightly tonight. So I smiled and thanked them for coming.

When I finally reached Victor and the women, they were talking intimately with him and each had a hand on his arms. He looked livid. I glanced over in Marius' direction. He had a raised eyebrow, but was watching the whole thing.

'Those women are still touching him, even though they know you are his Solus Amor and you are standing right in front of them. They're challenging your claim on him. Because you are unmarked, they believe he is unmarked as well. Talia told me mentally. "Echo. You're back." Victor smiled and brushed the women off his arms.

"Sorry I took so long. I needed a drink and then found it hard to get over here without greeting every vampire on the way. Who are these... ladies?" I asked.

"Lacey Black." The red haired one said.

"Chantel Schade." The black haired one smiled.

"I'm Echo Nightshade." I told them. "But you already knew that."

I caught Victor's eye and raised my hand up to my chin, then trailed my fingers down to my collarbone. His eyes followed the path of my fingers as I slid them back and forth along my collarbone. I smirked at the women. "Victor, would you take me over to dance. I'm terribly bored." I sighed.

"Anything for you, princess." He breathed and stepped forward.

His fingers brushed over my collarbone as he reached for that hand rather than the one that was at my side. He kissed my hand and pulled me toward the area where others were dancing. I turned back to the women and smiled. "Looks like I'm still pretty shiny." I winked before being swept into Victor's arms and spun around the dance floor.

I focused entirely on him while we danced, but his eyes were on my neck. I hoped I didn't push him too far. I totally forgot that the curse had him acting differently.

"Victor, are you alright?" I asked.

"You staked your claim on me in front of every vampire here. How could I be anything but elated?" He chuckled.

"I heard them in the bathroom saying that they were going to see how much you actually wanted me. I knew you wouldn't go with them, but I wanted them to know you were mine. Only mine." I growled a little.

"Your jealousy is enticing, Echo." Victor purred.

"I'm not jealous." I insisted.

"Vampires manifest differently than werewolves. You feel it like a wolf with Gray. The anger is more consuming. Wolves are very different from vampires in this. We don't feel that level of jealousy. Instead, we rise to the challenge and enjoy showing our rivals their worthlessness in the eyes of our mates.

Everyone was watching those women to see what would happen. Even if they didn't look it. I'm sure that the ones who stopped you from getting to me sooner were enjoying the show. You made sure those women saw that all their shameless flirting wasn't worth even a glance from me.

Now, who showed you how to touch yourself like that, princess? If we weren't in the middle of public, I'd throw you up on a table and take you right here after that display." He murmured heatedly.

I could feel myself getting aroused by the way he was talking. I swallowed and bit my lips together. Victor's arm tightened around my waist.

"I was just watching them, Victor. They were touching their necks the same way." I told him.

"No. They weren't nearly as sensual and tantalizing as you were, my love. I can't wait for this evening to be over so I can take you home and worship your sweet little body." He whispered.

I whimpered in response. I wanted that too. I wanted that more than I wanted anything else.