The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 152

We pulled up to Melissa's house. There were people meandering all over the lawn. Cars were parked up and down the street. We managed to find a spot and Gray helped me down from the cab of the truck.

I straightened out my dress and clung to Gray's arm. He held on to me protectively. Harmony was right. Most of the girls I saw out on the lawn had dresses, or skirts and shirts, that showed off as much or even more than mine did. Gray led me through everyone. He greeted a few who called out to him. We made it to the open front door and the house seemed to be teeming with people.

"I... I don't know if I can do this." I whispered.

"Yes, you can. I believe in you, Echo. We're going to break this ward and I'm going to take you home. Then, I'll peel you out of this dress and kiss every inch of your sweet body. I didn't like you wearing it, but I've never felt more proud than I am with you on my arm." Gray replied, his face so close to mine, I couldn't resist kissing him.

He kissed me like a starving man. His hand went to my back and touched my bare skin. I moaned into his mouth and gripped his shirt.

A few people cheered and whistled. I pulled back and licked my lips. Gray's lips curved into a small smirk.

"Let's get you a drink." He said, tugging me into the house and through the living room.

People were dancing to the pounding music. There were couples making out in every corner of the house. I looked around curiously as I followed where he led me.

The kitchen was quieter than the living room, but not by much. There were people playing games and making out again. It seemed like a party was just a way for people to get frisky in public.

Gray dropped my hand as he was digging around in a cooler. I glanced around a bit more. A boy who was making out with a girl caught my eye and winked. I took a step closer to Gray. "Wow. You're a hot little thing." A boy came up to me and said.

He extended an arm to the wall behind me and leaned as he towered over me. Gray was a few feet away. I looked over at him.

"Aww. Don't look away. It's rude. We're having a conversation. What's your name, baby?" He purred.

"I'm Echo. I'm here with Gray Padua." I told him, pressing myself against the wall, as far from him as possible.

Gray stood and turned to us. The guy glanced over and saw him. He smirked and looked back to me.

"If you ever want to trade up, I'm here. I'll make you feel real good, baby." The guy winked and sauntered away.

I went to Gray as quickly as I could manage on the teetering heels. He handed me a soda can and looked me over.

"Did he touch you? Do I have to kill him?" Gray growled.

"No. He just got real close. I want to find this ward and get out of here. How long do we have?" I asked.

He pulled out his phone. I opened my soda and took a drink. It was terribly hot in this house.

"Still have about thirty minutes. Let's wander around and see if we can locate the ward." Gray said.

Gray wrapped my arm around his as we walked around. There were a few people who recognized Gray and stopped us, so they could talk to him. I sipped my drink and smiled politely. "Oh, Gray! I can't believe you're here!" A girl squealed and ran up to us.

She was taller than me and wore a gold colored dress. She had creamy brown skin and dark red hair cut short. The girl hugged him and Gray pushed her off with a strained smile. "Chelsea. What are you doing here? Didn't you graduate last year?" He asked.

"Yeah, but there was nothing else to really do, so I came to check out who showed up to little Melissa's party. She practically begged me to come. You want to come upstairs with me and christen her bed with me? I'm sure that thing has seen more action in the last hour than it has since she got it." Chelsea laughed.

"I'm here with my fiancée, and I told you, I don't do that with anyone but the woman I'm going to marry." Gray replied.

"Oh. Well, how is he then? I worked as hard as I could to get in that boy's pants all last year." She said with a smirk.

"None of your business." I said firmly and pulled Gray away from that girl.

I was boiling mad. I found the first locked door and transported us in. I pushed him against the closed door. Gray looked confused.

"You are mine." I growled and pulled his lips down to mine.

Rubbing my body against his, I moaned as he started kissing me back. We were doing the thing that Bellamy suggested, but I found myself even more wound up after than I was before. Gray was making sure to relieve me afterward, but it didn't change the fact that I wanted him.

He pulled me up and turned to press me against the wall as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I groaned as he rubbed himself between my legs. I pulled down his shirt collar and started kissing toward his mark when something caught my eye.

In the center of the room was a faintly glowing light with a symbol in it. It was the ward. I gasped as Gray started nibbling at the crook of my neck.

"Gray. Stop. The ward." I whispered.

"We'll find it in a few minutes. Goddess, I missed your body." He purred.

"No. Stop. The ward is here. It's right there." I said, pushing at him.

Gray groaned and let me down. I pulled my skirt down so I was covered again. He reached over and turned on the light.

It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust. I heard Gray gasp. Then I saw what he did.

"Holy shit." He breathed.

There were guns, large knives, sharpened pieces of wood, and crossbows mounted on the walls. Silver tipped arrows sat on a work bench. There were jars of different things on a table. They all had labels. There was a strange looking thing sitting next to it that was covered in silver.

I approached the table and looked at one of the jars. It had a plant in it. I read the label. Wolfsbane. I didn't understand.

"We have to break the ward now and get the hell out of here." Gray said urgently.

"What is this, Gray?" I asked.

"It's a hunter's den. They were making silver bullets infused with wolfsbane. Those stakes on the wall are probably rowan and ash. Those are woods dangerous to vampires. Everyone will understand why we went a little early. We can't risk getting caught by hunters, especially not you. I'll text everyone now. Start working your magic." He ordered.

I was shaking as I went to the ward. I took a calming breath. I needed to focus and get this done.

"I was able to get an answer back from almost everyone. We still have five minutes. They don't think it will be enough to get a big enough response to worry about for the others. Let's start. Then we'll have you pop us out to the truck. I don't want to risk coming out of this room." Gray whispered.

The incantation seemed to take forever. My nerves were on edge. Melissa's family were hunters. If she found out what we were, she might try to kill us like those men who came to the house did.

Soon, there was a bright flash of light and the ward disappeared. Gray turned off the light in the room and grabbed me, holding me to him tightly. I wrapped my arms around him.

"Let's go, angel. I don't want you here any longer." He murmured and kissed the top of my head.

I closed my eyes and thought of the truck and where we'd parked. We appeared near the bushes by where we parked. No one seemed to notice us.

He picked me up and carried me to the truck quickly. After loading me in, he ran to his side and got in. I barely had time to put my seatbelt on before he turned on the truck and started speeding down the road. I hoped everyone else's wards had gone smoothly.

[Amelia]

The evening was actually very pleasant. I was walking through the forest with the dreamy Viking, Finn. Goddess, why did he have to be a vampire?

Physically, he was exactly my type, though, I do like my men a little bolder and more boisterous. He seemed like he was like that when I first met him, but, lately, he's been a little shyer. I wondered what happened.

We kept walking along. When I stumbled, he was there before I could even blink, catching me and getting me set to rights before he backed off again. This walk was longer than I'd thought it would be. And boring. "So, Finn, what do you do for fun?" I asked as we walked.

"Travel." He replied curtly.

"Cool. I've always wanted to travel. Never seem to have the money for it though. You must be loaded. How old are you?"

"Eight hundred fifty-ish." Finn answered.

"Well. You've seen a lot then. Are you liking Oregon?"

"It's okay."

I stopped and turned to him. Exasperated. This was the most tedious conversation I'd ever had.

"Have I offended you or something? You've been all tight lipped and skittish. I thought you were going to be fun, but you're just an uptight vampire like all the rest. What on earth did I do to you to make you back off like this?" I demanded.

He looked shocked. I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. I couldn't manage to hide my shiver as I realized I was challenging a fucking vampire! He could drain me dry or snap me like a twig, or both!

"I... I don't know." He sighed. "I have no clue why I'm so nervous around you. I mean, I know, but I don't know, you know?"

I laughed. "I have no idea what you're trying to say."

He chuckled. "I don't either. I'll try to do better."

We walked along a little longer before I tripped and almost fell, but, like he'd been doing all evening, Finn caught me before I hit the ground. He set me down and turned around, kneeling on one knee. "Climb on. I can see just fine and avoid all the stuff you keep stepping on." Finn said.

"Only known you a few days and already you're trying to get me to ride you." I snickered.

"Trust me, sugar, when you ride me the only thing coming out of your mouth will be my name and prayers to your goddess." He said, turning to me with a smirk.

I laughed and climbed up on his back, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. His hands gripped my thighs and I bit my lips together to suppress a moan. They were huge.

"I hope what they say about men with big hands is right." I purred in his ear.

"Oh, they don't lie, sweetheart. I'll be gentle with you, though. I know how fragile witches can be."

He started walking quickly through the forest. I loved it. Men didn't offer to pick me up. I wasn't huge, but I was thicker than my skinny little sister. We were the same height, but I was much curvier than she was.

It often got me the attention of boys and men as I made my way in the world. It was a blessing and a curse. My bawdy attitude often got me into situations I had to talk my way out of. In a couple cases, I had to fight my way out. Finn didn't seem like the type to force me into anything, though. I wondered if I could manage a little private time with him before I had to go back home. He would be perfect for my last hurrah before I found my soulmate. "There! I see it!" I pointed off to the side and he turned quickly.

We approached the ward. I was a little excited. Over the last couple days, I'd been acquainted with the curse, the story behind it, and the cat formerly known as Fenton Aimes Sr., nothing about it made me question this decision. As we reached the place where the ward was, I unwrapped my legs from around Finn's waist. He squeezed my thighs before letting them go and crouching down so I could get off him. I let my chest rub slowly down his muscular back. Finn groaned. "You're playing with fire, little witch."

"It's because I like the heat so much." I murmured. "How long until we go?"

He pulled out his phone and looked at the time. "Huh. No signal. At least the clock works. About ten minutes. I'd ask if you wanted to waste a little time with me, but I take a lot longer than ten minutes and once I start I don't stop." I giggled. "I like this Finn a lot more than the uptight vampire Finn."

"This is the real Finn. Trust me, you'll never see the other one again, sweetheart." He said.

I found a stump to sit down on and looked at my companion in the pale moonlight. He really was gorgeous. I licked my lips.

Finn stood near me, looking out for people approaching. His ass was as amazing as the rest of him. I was sure Emmalyn would be cool with spending a couple more days here. She liked everyone in the house.

My sister was hard for most people to read, but I knew her. She was excited about this and loved everything she'd seen so far. Everyone was enthralled by her ability. She didn't get that as much at home. I was the only one who couldn't cast runes in the family, so no one was ever amazed by her.

The ward started glowing brighter. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"Finn, how long?" I asked.

"Five minutes. Why?" Finn turned to me with a worried expression.

"Because the ward started glowing. I think they're going early. I'm gonna start. Watch my back." I told him.

"With pleasure." He purred.

I approached the ward and started the incantation. I was focused, until I heard a twig snap in the distance. Finn dashed off in the direction of the sound. I kept on working, until I heard a snap from behind me. I didn't stop, but I turned a little to see what it was. There was a witch standing not far behind me. She was building a fireball and looked distressed in the light of her flame. Damn it. Where was Finn? "Please. Run. I can't stop it." The witch said to me.

I couldn't answer. I needed to finish the incantation. I had to break the ward.

Suddenly, she threw the fireball and it seemed to slam against something solid and invisible. I winced, but continued. Something else hit the invisible thing. I realized I was surrounded by witches. They were at different distances and attacking, but there was some sort of shield around me.

I chanted faster and, as I reached the last line, the ward broke and a blinding light flashed. The attacks stopped and I could hear weeping and muttering from all around.

"Finn! Where are you?" I called out.

Before I even finished the question, he was standing beside me, looking me over. I pulled his lips to mine. He was stunned for a moment, but then wrapped his arms around me and picked me up.

Never in my life had I ever melted, but I did. His tongue teased at my lips and I granted him entry into my mouth. I moaned as he kissed me passionately and wrapped my legs around his waist.

Finn pulled away and I whimpered, wanting more. He chuckled and kissed the tip of my nose. I looked up into his perfect violet eyes. That was my favorite color.

"We have to get back to the house before Echo freaks. I'll come to your room tonight, Amor. I'll give you everything you desire." He promised.

"Sounds good. Do you know what that shield was?" I asked.

"A new ability of mine manifested when you were in danger. A magic shield. Thank the goddess for that." Finn sighed as he started walking back the way we came. "You believe in the goddess?" I questioned.

"Of course I do. Even vampires are creatures of the goddess." He answered. "Let's go home, Amor. We need to celebrate."

I liked when he called me Amor. I was thrilled that he'd kept me safe. All my life, I'd heard vampires were darkness personified. Finn wasn't that. Talia didn't seem like that. I wondered how much more misinformation was out there.