The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 116

[Gray]

Last night had been pretty perfect. I never thought it could be like that. Echo was sensual and glorious. Her eyes were glowing the entire time she was with both of us. I was reminded of just how beautiful her eyes were when they were all lit up. There was a shift in the bed and I opened my eyes to see what was going on. Victor was on his hands and knees over Echo and he was glaring directly at my face. Rex started going mad with the waves of anger rolling off Victor. "Mine." He growled.

I swallowed hard. Defending myself from a prone position would be difficult. I had to make sure Echo wouldn't get hurt. She still appeared to be sleeping.

Carefully, I moved toward the edge of the bed. If he followed me, then we could be far enough away that she would be safe. I wished I had a pack link to one of the other wolves... then I remembered. I had one to the guys walking the perimeter. Quickly, I linked Justin to go get Dillon and Jean-Claude and send them to Victor's room with an emergency warning. There was nothing of him in his eyes. He was a vampire acting on instinct.

The edge of the bed was near. Victor had followed me, climbing over Echo and stalking me. I lowered myself the ground and crouched, still moving away from him slowly.

I was ready when Victor sprung at me. I managed to keep my feet as I defended my neck from him. He scratched my forearms deeply before jumping off of me. Rex worked to heal me as I kept a careful eye on Victor, waiting for his next move. The wait wasn't long. He launched at me again and started punching and grappling. I didn't want to hurt him, but I had to make sure I didn't die. I managed to shift into my half wolf form, it could take more damage than my human body, and started fighting back as best I could.

Victor was fast, he was strong, and he wasn't pulling any punches. I felt a crack as he hit me in the ribs. I knew Echo was awake now, there was no way she could have slept through this, I could hear her crying.

"Stop, man. Your mate needs you." I said softly.

"You touched what was mine. You'll die for it, wolf." Victor growled.

"She's crying. What if something else is hurting her? Are you going to kill me while something else hurts your mate?" I asked.

Victor snarled and went to Echo. She looked scared of him for a moment. I tried to implore her with my eyes. She needed to distract him until someone could get there.

"V-Victor. Help me. It hurts." She whimpered.

He looked her over, trying to figure it out while Echo cried. At least feral Victor wasn't as smart as real Victor. It did the job, though.

Talia, Finn, Dillon, and Jean-Claude busted into the room. The vampires were on Victor fast. They held him while Dillon picked up Echo and got her out of the room quickly. Jean-Claude came to me and put my arm over his shoulder as he guided me out of the room. He closed the door and the sound of Victor's shouts and threats were muted.

"Looks like you took quite a beating." Dillon said.

"Nah. He was toying with me. Giving me hope that I could beat him before he killed me." I told him, breathing shallowly.

"He cracked some of your ribs. Can you shift back to your full human form or all the way into Rex? That could speed the healing process." Jean-Claude suggested.

I opted to go to my full human form. If I let Rex out, he would run right back into that room. I didn't want to die because my wolf was insulted.

Once I was human again, Jean-Claude picked me up and carried me to my room. I tried to tell him I could walk, but he insisted it would be easier on me physically if I didn't move too much. It was really awkward being carried, naked, to my room. Dillon followed us, carrying Echo, who was holding on to him and crying her eyes out. He rocked her and hushed her. When we got to my room and Jean-Claude set me on the bed, Dillon let Echo go.

She helped me get covered with my blankets and held my hand. I assured her that I was alright, but Echo was blaming herself. I could see it.

"This must be why he came to ask me to train you to subdue a vampire. I think Victor's been keeping the progression of the curse from us for a while. You don't go from one small outburst to trying to kill a man literally overnight." Dillon sighed. Jean-Claude rummaged in my drawers and pulled out a t-shirt he tossed to Echo. She slipped it on. I was still in a lot of pain, but I could appreciate how good she looked in my t-shirt.

The cuts on my arms were healing more slowly than they should have. Blood wasn't streaming out of them anymore, but they were painful. Echo took one arm and started licking the wounds on it.

"This really isn't the time to be feeding, Echo." Dillon said.

"She's healing me. Let her do what she wants. Echo is never selfish."

"Yes, I am. I've been selfish this whole time and done what I wanted, when I wanted. I put you in danger with my desires. I shouldn't have done that. I didn't realize.... What happened, Gray? Why was he like that?" She asked.

I explained what had happened. Echo started shaking. I realized she hadn't washed her makeup off last night and it was now streaming down her face, in the places it wasn't smudged.

"Angel. Don't cry. Jean-Claude, can you take her to her room to clean up her face? I don't have anything for getting makeup off."

He nodded and approached the bed.

"Echo, go with Jean-Claude. Get cleaned up and dress for the day. We'll go sit outside until Victor is asleep." I offered.

"But, your ribs." She whispered.

"He's a werewolf. They're probably mostly healed. He'll be fine. Go with my mate." Dillon urged her.

Echo climbed off my bed and left the room with a lingering glance back at me. I hated sending her away, but I was having trouble with the pain and didn't want her to see me weak. I breathed a jagged sigh of relief when she was gone. "I thought I was going to die." I muttered.

"Sorry it took so long. I wanted both vampires with me when we went in there. I'm good, but not fighting an eight-hundred-year-old vampire level. Four or five, maybe, not eight. You did good. We'll start having you train with Talia. I don't want anything like this to happen again." He replied.

"We need to break this curse. This time he waited until I was awake. Next time, he may not. I haven't been this scared of him in weeks. Don't tell Echo. I don't want her to be more afraid. If she hears I was scared, she'll become over protective and that could turn him against her. He registers her as important. We were able to distract him with her." I said.

"With luck, Echo's friend will change his mind. I'm looking for ways in to that nursing home. We need to get this figured out. This outburst means there's even less time." Dillon told me.

There was a knock at the door. Dillon went to answer it. I could see Finn right outside the door.

"Victor's mind has come back. He would like to see Gray." Talia said.

"I'm not sure that's a great idea." Dillon replied.

"Let him in, Dil. I want to talk to him." I told him.

Dillon moved from the door and waved them in. Talia came in first, followed by Finn and Victor, who was looking down at the floor. His eyes raised to look at me and he seemed distraught. Victor rarely showed emotions on his face, so this was definitely different. He came closer to me, flanked by the other vampires. They were ready to grab him if he came after me. I winced as I sat up in the bed.

"I'm so sorry, Grayson. I was watching Echo sleep and you moved. I was suddenly filled with rage and it was like I was pulled from control of my body by the anger. I wanted to kill you, but I didn't want to kill you. I pulled back as much as I could. All I could do was watch." Victor explained.

"I'm not going to say it's okay, because it's not. It will be, though, and you can make it up to me. What's the plan now? We have to make sure everyone stays safe." I said.

"Over the last two weeks, Marius has had people in the basement preparing a cell for Victor. When he isn't capable of pulling back, he will go live there. Even if we have to force him in there. We will have to ask that you don't sleep next to Echo from this point on. Even if he isn't in the room, Victor will start to have the urge to come after you. You and Echo will have to confine your relationship to the hours when he's sleeping." Talia told me.

"I didn't realize you were preparing something like that. When has that been happening?" I asked.

"While you're at school, mostly. Marius' workers are efficient and don't goof around. They have a timeline and the price of not delivering on time is quite dear." She informed me. "Are you feeling better, Victor?"

"I feel like myself, but terrible for hurting you and scaring Echo. That was really smart, distracting me with her, but it was dangerous. My anger didn't decide to focus on her part in you two being together, next time it might." He warned. "We'll do our best to keep you from seeing us together like that. Why hadn't you told anyone it was getting bad?"

"I, honestly, thought I had a handle on the situation, Grayson. There were some times when it was a strain. In all, until last night, it wasn't too bad and I thought I was in control. You can trust that I would have done something immediately if I had realized.... Is Echo afraid of me now? She looked so terrified." Victor whispered.

"She's upset, but I don't think she's as scared of you as she is scared for you. Victor, Echo loves you and doesn't want to lose you. You can't pull this stoic hero shit. You need to tell us when it's getting bad. This curse doesn't fuck around and you can't either." I insisted.

The door opened. I knew it was Echo coming back. She wouldn't want to stay away too long if one of us was injured. It wasn't in her nature.

Victor turned to the door and I saw her run and throw herself into his arms. She must have felt his fear. Neither one of us wanted to lose her or her trust. I knew she would want to show him that she trusted him.

He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head while whispering apologies. They looked like the perfect vampire couple. Pale, beautiful, and totally in love. I knew my place and it was with them, throwing off the perfect symmetry of their icy love. "You shouldn't be in here, Victor. I need to take care of Gray. You hurt him very badly." Echo said.

"I needed to apologize, princess. I couldn't go to sleep knowing that Grayson thought I really wanted him dead." He replied.

"Gray didn't think that. He knows the real you likes him. I know the real you likes him. This isn't something you should worry about. Go get cleaned up, have some blood, and rest. I'll be there when you wake up, I need to take care of Gray right now." She told him, kissing his hands. "Please, be good for me, Victor."

Victor chuckled. "I'll always be good for you, sweet Echo. I will do as you say. Will you take care of me like this if I ever get hurt?"

"Of course I will, Victor. I love both of you and I'll take care of both of you. Don't worry. I don't have a favorite. I don't pick sides. Go on." Echo shooed him away.

Once he was out of the room, she climbed into the bed with me and pulled the blanket away to look at the large bruise that had formed on my ribs. She ordered me to lay down and asked Dillon and Jean-Claude to guard the door until Victor was in bed. Echo started healing the wounds on my other arm. She stroked my stomach as she licked the slices in my skin. The pain finally went away there, making me more aware of the pain in my chest. I couldn't help but whimper a little.

"Shh. I'm here. I'll see if I can help you heal your ribs too. Fae magic might work a little on werewolves. I'm sure you'll take all the help you can get." She smiled.

There were tears forming in the corners of her eyes. I hated that she was hurting emotionally, but I wouldn't focus on it because she wanted me to focus on the healing she was doing for me. She wanted to be my hero. I would gladly let her. Echo started tracing her little fingers over the bruise on my ribs. I almost couldn't feel her over the pain radiating from them. Even shifting hadn't sped my healing by much. I wondered why. I should be mostly healed.

She focused on my chest, not talking or smiling at all. Just staring intently while her fingers slid back and forth over my skin. The pain started to go away. I could breathe a lot easier.

Suddenly, Echo fell over. I managed to pull her arm so she would land next to me. I looked her over. She didn't seem to be injured, just unconscious. I wasn't entirely healed, but Rex said it would only take an hour to finish the rest.

Carefully, I tucked her into the bed next to me and arranged her to cuddle on my chest. It didn't hurt nearly as bad, and I was more than willing to suffer a little for her. My Echo was amazing and worth any bit of pain that I would have to suffer to keep her near me. I drifted to sleep with her in my arms. I knew everyone in the house would keep us safe from Victor if he took another turn. When I woke up, I planned to throw every bit of my mental faculties into getting that curse resolved. I couldn't let my friend suffer in a cage in the basement.