The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 118

[Echo]

I barely paid attention in school. I was entirely focused on getting over to Sean's house and meeting his dad. I needed to save Victor.

"Earth to Echo." Harmony said, poking me.

"Sorry. I'm super distracted today." I smiled tightly.

"Yeah, I noticed. You need to eat your lunch." She told me.

I sighed and started eating. Terry and Elle were sitting at a different table today and most of Val and Harmony's friends were still all with their friends. Rosario took this time to update everyone on the curse.

We were starting our own curse team. Something where we didn't have to get approval from the vampires before doing something or pursuing a path. I wanted to let Victor know, but he had tried to exclude me from the hunt for clues before. I couldn't imagine him approving.

Sean pulled out a sheet of paper and plotted out a timeline with the information we had. Gray knew a lot more than I did, because he was always wandering around the house and hearing things. He didn't do it on purpose, he just happened to be places when people were talking about things.

Another paper came out of his bag. It was a Venn diagram with all the species affected by the curse and where there was overlap in the effects. I started really seeing how it all fit together.

"He stole love from everyone." I murmured.

"What?" Gray asked.

"Werewolves can't find their mates until they're eighteen. Love spells don't work. Soulmate spells don't work. No vampire has found a Solus Amor in this territory until Victor found me. He and I didn't even recognize each other as that. Some of the fae who needed to conceal themselves more never got their ability to use glamour back, making them need to go back to the forest. Some of their true mates were still able to use their glamour." I said.

"Like my father and mother. My father can't use glamour at all. He prefers being in the forest anyway, but he hasn't really been able to live with my mother again because we can't obscure our neighborhood from humans anymore. No fae has been able to walk our streets safely, without glamour, in a hundred years." Rosario stated.

"He took love from everyone else like he did from Grace and like death did from him. He loved his wife, but she died. That must have torn him up."

"Lila said he went dark after losing his wife. Grace would have been about five when she died. Her entire life changed. Her father changed." Gray said.

"I know that feeling." I sighed. "I was five when I stopped being a child to my parents and became an evil creature."

Gray put his arm around me and hugged me to him. I felt so bad for Grace. Five years old is not old enough to understand why everything changed. I didn't know why they decided I was evil, only that I lost everything except my sister and brother. They became the only light in my life.

I endured a lot. I worked even harder so I wouldn't be punished, because I saw how much it hurt them when I was hurt. All I wanted was to stay with the people I loved. I wanted that now as well. I wanted to stay with Victor and Gray.

The bell rang for the end of lunch. Sean packed up his things and smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Everything will be alright. We'll figure this out. We're going to win." He told me.

"We have to win. There's no other choice. I can't live without Victor." I said, putting the lid on my lunch box.

"Then it's what we'll do."

The rest of school seemed to either drag, or go by in a flash. It seemed to go slower the closer it got to being over. I practically flew to my locker and out to the bus.

Sean and Rosario sat in the seat I usually shared with Sean. I sat behind them. They seemed to barely notice me. They were scooted close and were murmuring to each other.

"Ugh, I don't even know what she sees in him." The person behind me muttered to their seat mate.

"Maybe it was a dare or she's messing with him. I can't believe she's really dating him. He's such a geek." The other scoffed.

Rosario and Sean didn't even seem to register it. They were actually the talk of the school. No one could seem to believe that they were together. I heard it all over. People asked me if I had any idea how it happened.

I turned to the two girls behind me. They looked pretty normal and didn't sit with us. They looked a little younger. Probably ninth grade or so.

"Rosario would never date someone on a dare or just to mess with them. She and Sean are in love. You can't always choose who you love and they may not always be exactly what others find attractive, but your happiness will always outshine the words and thoughts of others. If you really knew them, you wouldn't be able to question it." I told them.

"If I ever fall for a geek, I hope someone slaps some sense into me." The first one snorted.

"You're dating Gray Padua, like you have any room to talk. One of the hottest boys in school follows you around like a puppy." The second one said.

"And I wasn't popular or well-known at all. There were all sorts of girls who wanted to date Gray, but he picked me. When you're older, I hope you find a relationship that will help you see that popularity and attractiveness aren't what's important in a partner. A real connection and love are. If you just look at Rosario and Sean, you can see that they have that." I smiled.

"Whatever. She's probably a secret geek or something." The first waved me off and changed the subject with her companion.

I shrugged and turned back in my seat. Sean and Rosario were watching me. I blushed a little.

"Thank you for that. No one else defends us and we had just decided to ignore them." Rosario whispered.

"People should mind their own business when it comes to the relationships of others." I huffed. "They aren't involved in the relationship. They don't know what you're going through or what you do for each other that makes this work for you." "Speaking from experience?"

"No one wants to hear about my struggles with having two mates." I sighed.

"I most certainly do." Rosario chuckled. "Your mates are handsome and they both seem to love you a lot. I want to know everything."

"Everyone always wants to hear the hot, sexy, fun stuff. I don't kiss and tell." I winked.

"Echo. If you want to talk about the hard, unsexy stuff, I'm here. I may not have much advice, but I'm always willing to listen." Sean said.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." I smiled at him.

"This is my stop. I'll see you tonight, Echo. Don't worry. My dad is a big softie. He just wants to know the person he's handing all his work over to." Sean told me as he stood.

"Okay. I'll try to remember that. I'll see you in a little while." I told him.

"See you then." He smiled and left the bus.

I moved to sit next to Rosario. He smiled at me too. I didn't know if it was the glamour or just happiness, but he looked like he was glowing.

"Everything's going okay with you two, then?" I asked.

"More than okay. We spent Saturday night together and most of Sunday. We talked about everything. Not just the curse and all the things Sean didn't know about, we talked about relationship things, too. He's so scared of being abandoned, that he pushes people away when it looks like it could happen." Rosario said.

I took Rosario's hand in my own and squeezed it tightly. All relationships were hard, but Sean's worries could end up making his even harder. I felt badly that their relationship had a rocky start because of me.

"You know I'm always here to talk. You don't have to try and deal with everything on your own." I offered.

"I guess you'd be the expert in unconventional relationships." He chuckled. "You know you can talk to me about the hard things, too. I don't want you to think I'm only interested in the fun stuff. I can imagine that's all anyone else focuses on."

"It really is. Every supernatural who finds out I have two mates asks about things like sleeping arrangements, jealousy, and intimate details. Never the struggle of trying to make them each happy. Never how hard it is to see one pulling away and having to push the other away. Victor almost killed Gray yesterday and I'm supposed to act like it doesn't affect me. I see him turning into someone I don't know and.... I'm so scared Rosario. I keep saying we're going to break this curse, but I just don't know." I admitted.

"I bet it feels like people are just saying what they're supposed to, not being honest with you, when they say we're going to beat this curse. I honestly believe that we will beat it. You have me and Sean working on this. We're getting so much information. This is the most anyone has ever put together in such a short time. You're responsible for most of it. I think you were exactly what we needed to break this curse. As for the rest, this personality change isn't permanent. Victor will go back to being himself as soon as we break the curse. Please believe me." Rosario assured me.

"If we break the curse." I sighed.

"No. When we break the curse. Don't give up. Never give up. Victor needs you to believe in us and to believe this curse will be broken. If he senses that you're giving up, he might give up. That won't help anyone. Just stay strong for a little longer. Come talk to me or Sean when you need to be weak. We're here for you."

"Thank you. I'm afraid to talk to my sister and brother about it, because neither one of them really approves of my relationships." I told him.

"They need to grow the fuck up and stop trying to control your life. Over the last couple of weeks, I've watched them baby you. You never seem to even blink at it. You need to get mad. You need to put them in their place." He insisted.

"I don't mind them taking care of me, like today when Harmony reminded me to eat. I just wish I could talk to them more about things like what's going on with Gray and Victor. I love my sister and brother. I miss being able to tell them anything." "Maybe I can help you with that one a little. It sounds like you need a sleepover. Have them come to your house and stay the night. Let them see how your relationship with the guys works." Rosario offered.

"You really think that will work?" I asked.

"Couldn't really hurt. I've seen you with Gray and I've seen you with Victor. Your love for them is obvious. I think maybe Val and Harmony just need to see it. Plus, you've only been around them at school. Maybe part of their objection is that you're living away from them." He suggested.

I nodded. That made a lot of sense. I had never lived apart from my sister and brother, and now I'd lived away from them for a month. They only saw me at school and that would be ending soon.

A pang of regret shot through me. I was free, but I'd cut off my major family. I knew Cam wouldn't want Harmony to leave him in the pack lands. There were enough rooms in the house that I could put all three in their own rooms.

Excitement at the idea raced through me. I could have my family and the men I loved all in the same area. My sister and brother would be able to see how happy I was and I would be able to take care of everyone I loved. "I think this is your stop, Echo." Rosario said.

"Thanks!" I grinned and hugged him briefly before getting off the bus.

Gray was waiting for me at the end of the driveway and drove me up to the house. I'd made another big decision today that I wanted to clarify with both Gray and Victor before bedtime tonight. It was only fair that I talked to them a little.

We pulled into Gray's parking spot and he turned off the truck. I unbuckled and turned to him. He smiled and leaned in to kiss me. I accepted it, because I didn't know if he was going to be mad at me after this. "Gray, can we talk for a moment?" I asked.

"Sure thing, angel. What did you want to talk about?"

"With the way the curse is progressing and the changes that we've had to make to how we spend time, I've become worried. I don't want to make Victor angry and I don't want to make you sad." I told him. "O...kay.... What are you saying exactly here, Echo?" Gray questioned.

"I... I think it's best if I don't make love to you or to Victor until the curse is broken. We can still have kisses and cuddles, but I feel like you'll start to feel bad if I only make love to you hurriedly in the day time with no time for anything else. I think Victor will feel bad about excluding you, even though he knows it isn't safe. I love you both too much to watch either of you be hurt." I said.

He nodded. "I understand. You don't want to incite Victor and you don't want to hurt my feelings. We already decided that you wouldn't sleep with me. I just didn't realize I would be cut off in other ways too."

"It's not because I don't want you, Gray. I just don't want you to die. This will make it much easier. And I'm going to shower and change before seeing Victor in the afternoon, so I don't smell like you." I informed him.

"I hate that you're washing off my scent every day. I think that hurts more than not being with you. Scent is important to werewolves, but I understand. As much as you don't want me to die, I really don't want to die. We'll do it like this, but once that spell is broken, I'm not letting you out of the house unless you're covered in my scent." Gray told me.

"Deal." I grinned.

"Let's get inside. We have school work to do and now you have even less time for me in the afternoons." He winked.

"I love you, Gray." I murmured, caressing his cheek.

"I love you, too, angel. Don't worry. This will all be over soon. Tomorrow, we'll get everything we need. I just know it." Gray smiled.

I hoped he was right. I wanted to be able to be with my mates again. My whole body ached with wanting them. It would have to wait though. We had a curse to break. If nothing else, this was one heck of a motivator.