The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 18

An hour later, we arrived at Carroll's. Echo was excited. She hadn't been to a proper restaurant in her life. I had her look at the menu online while we drove, remembering what Drew said about her indecision at the fast food restaurant. We'd made sure to dress nicely, as a courtesy to Echo. Since it was her first time in a proper restaurant, I wanted her to have the full experience. In the future, I'd take her out as often as possible.

She would be attending galas and events with me. I would have to take her to buy some nicer clothing. I wouldn't trust that to Drew.

When we arrived, I was a little shocked to see the host was a werewolf. He didn't seem aggressive or upset by our presence. He seated us at a nice table and gave us the menus. I'd never met a wolf so civil.

"Your server will be Grayson. He'll be by in a few moments to take your orders." He smiled and left.

"That was interesting." Master Marius chuckled.

"What was?" Echo asked.

"The host is a werewolf. They don't tend to like vampires." I told her.

"They tend to hate us." Rosy snickered. "He was very polite."

Echo's eyes widened and she looked at her menu. I could smell that she was nervous. The idea of having a potential enemy so close must have upset her.

"They won't do anything because we're here. Don't worry." I said. "Just focus on what you want to eat."

"Lots of protein. You need to eat more meat." Master Marius ordered. "Once you're healthy, you'll start having the abilities you were meant to have. Right now, you're weak."

"I'll ask the server for recommendations." She said softly. "Since none of you has eaten solid food in centuries."

We chuckled. She had a point. I could barely remember the flavor of most foods and food from when I was alive was very different from food now. We'd see what he had to say.

-

[Grayson]

-

I finished wrapping silverware for the table that had just been cleared when Pierce came and tapped my shoulder. He was one of my brother's friends, but had become like a friend to me. His family owned the restaurant and he gave me the job because I was the Alpha's little brother.

"You have a four top seated. Try not to insult them." Pierce snorted.

"I haven't insulted anyone since my second week here." I laughed. "Three of them are vampires."

There goes my tip. I sighed. Vampires who came here were usually just feeding some blood-whore they'd either finished with or were courting. I couldn't seem to reign in my distain for them.

"Why'd you seat them in my section? You know I hate them." I groaned.

"Because it came up in the rotation. Deal with it." He commanded.

I picked up my order pad and left the prep area. Fucking vampires. I'd had pretty decent tips all night, they were going to take up a table and leave me nothing.

None of them knew they should tip since most of them hadn't been to restaurants since before they died. I couldn't believe it. At least, they'd probably ask for another waiter once they saw me. They didn't tend to like werewolves.

Pausing at the server's stand, I scanned the room. It wasn't hard to tell which one it was, but it looked like four vampires. All pale as hell and pretending to look at the menu.

I decided to listen for a while. It would give me a better idea of what kind of assholes they'd be. I'd try to temper myself properly.

"Have you decided what you want to drink, Echo?" A male with dark brown hair asked.

They always drank red wine. The most expensive stuff we had. Usually, they'd purchase a bottle and have us drop a vial of blood into it. It was disgusting.

"Maybe some Coke? I don't know, Victor. I'm so bad at this." The girl giggled.

Her voice was amazing. I looked at her, she was pale, but not in the same way as the vampires. A blush spread across her cheeks. She was human!

The seat she was in let me see her profile as she sat. She was delicate and thin, like she didn't eat much. The dress she wore draped over her knees, ending mid-shin and she twisted her ankles around the chair's legs. "What about an appetizer?" The other female asked. "Humans like cheese. They have mozzarella sticks."

The girl laughed and I almost smiled. She was beautiful. I felt my wolf start to take notice. Rex was getting anxious.

“I do like cheese. I can get some, but it says marinara sauce comes with it. I know Victor doesn't mind the scent of garlic, but I don't know about you and Marius." The girl responded.

What had the other vampire called her? Echo? It was a weird name, but beautiful all the same.

"I don't mind it. If I were feeding on you, I'd say no, but I'm not so it's not a concern." The other female said.

"I don't mind, either. This is your reward meal. Think only of yourself right now, Echo. No one else matters." The other male said.

Now I knew most of their names. I was sure I'd get the other soon. Time to go meet them. I took a deep breath and started toward the table.

As I drew closer, I smelled the most amazing scent. It was like cotton candy and lemon drops. Very sweet with a little tartness. Rex started going nuts. 'What's going on, Rex?'

'It's our mate!'

'Where?'

'The girl. The one with the vampires! We have to save her!'

'Shit. Just chill out, man. We'll see what we can do. Trent won't like it if we start a thing with the vampires, even if it is because they have my mate.'

I was nearly to the table. My heart was in my throat. This girl was my mate? How could I be mated to someone who would hang out with vampires?

"Umm... I did have one question, and it's going to make me seem really stupid." She murmured.

Goddess, I wanted to hold her. She seemed so vulnerable. I felt the urge to protect her from everything.

"What is it, princess?" Victor asked.

A growl started in my chest. He had no right to call my angel his princess.

"What's a werewolf?" Echo inquired.

I froze. She knew what vampires were, but not werewolves? No. That couldn't be right.

Everyone knew what werewolves were. Even mundane humans knew. There were books, movies, even songs about werewolves.

The vampires seemed surprised, too. At least I wasn't alone.

"No one ever told you about them?" Victor asked.

"No. I only knew about vampires because of my parents. I wasn't allowed to watch television or movies. I was only allowed to read approved books, when I was allowed to read. No one talked about them. Not even the vampires who came to see me." She responded. I stepped up to the table and knelt by her. Up close, she was even more beautiful than from a distance. The scent of her so near me made Rex dance with joy in my head.

"My name is Grayson. I'm your server and a werewolf. I can answer your questions better than they can." I said looking up into her beautiful eyes.

They were hazel, but with a green glow. Her skin was creamy and soft looking. I wanted to take her hand in mine and feel if it was as soft as it seemed. She looked so familiar, but I didn't know where I'd seen her before. Her eyes widened. "You're too close."

I stood and stepped back. She looked back at the menu, blushing. The vampires were staring at me.

"I didn't realize this area was so safe you could go announce that sort of information without a care for who heard it." Marius smirked.

"According to my people, it isn't. Rosy, have you heard anything like this before? Someone sharing a secret like that with a complete stranger?" Victor said.

"No, I haven't. Does your Alpha know you give this information freely?" She asked.

"Leave him alone. He was trying to be helpful and probably thought it was safe since I'm sitting with three vampires." Echo told them firmly.

She defended me! That was dangerous! These vampires were powerful, I could feel it, she shouldn't be making them angry. My mate was such a brave girl.

"Sorry, Echo. It's a little off-putting. Though the mundane world knows we exist, they prefer pretending we don't." Victor explained.

"They're right. I messed up. I'm not supposed to say stuff like that in public." I said.

"Why did you then?" She asked.

The urge to tell her she was my mate was insane. I looked over at the vampires and they were glaring. More than anything, I wished I were the Alpha and could order them out of my territory.

"Like you said, I figured it would be safe since you know them." I lied.

They could tell I was lying, too. I could see it in their faces. She seemed to accept it as the truth. Her eyes softened as she looked at me.

"Thank you for the offer. I'd rather not, though. Please, don't endanger yourself like that again. Right now, you should focus on your work." Echo replied.

"What can I get you today?" I asked, getting back to work like my mate told me to.

I knew the names of all three vampires. I knew her name. I could find her again. When she wasn't with them. As long as I knew they wouldn't drain her. She needed to live long enough for me to claim her and get her safely into my pack.

The vampires all ordered soup and wine. It was strange, normally they wouldn't make the effort past the wine. I felt a little better about their intentions. If they were going to drain her, they wouldn't make the effort to seem normal even if she knew what they were. "Do you have any recommendations? I need a lot of protein." She blushed.

Why would she need a lot of protein? She was feeding them! There were no marks on her neck, though. Goddess, her neck was gorgeous. I could see the exact spot I wanted to mark. I could almost imagine marking her as mine.

"The steak here is nice. It comes with garlic mashed potatoes and your choice of steamed vegetables or a salad." I suggested quickly as I realized I'd been staring again.

"That sounds good. Could you make it as rare as possible?" Echo asked.

"No problem." I grinned and finished the rest of the order.

A woman who likes a rare steak. Just like me. If I could get her to fall for me, I'd make sure she had whatever she wanted for the rest of her life. I just had to figure out how to make her mine.