The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 181

My honeymoon with Gray had been perfect. He rented a beach house for two weeks on the coast. We spent all day playing and exploring the nearby towns.

In the evenings, we would cook together. Sometimes, we would light a fire in the fire pit and roast marshmallows. I liked it when we did that. Gray taught me how to make s'mores, but I preferred the marshmallows on their own. We made love every night and sometimes during the day. Once we even did it in the ocean, which was scary and amazing all at the same time. We could hardly keep our hands off each other.

He took me to the aquarium and the zoo. In every place we went, he bought me a new stuffed animal. By the time we went home, I had quite a collection to add to Little Rexy and Boots. Published and Updated By FindNovel.net

I found that I didn't miss Victor as much as I thought I would in that two weeks, but, judging by his reaction to us coming home, he certainly missed me. He cleared two nights' worth of work, just so he could hear about everything and take me out for a nice dinner. Victor made me wait until November for our honeymoon. He said the nights were longer, but the weather not as cold as in December. I was just happy to be with him.

He took me to Europe, well, I took us to Europe. It was easier to travel using my ability than it was using vehicles. We stayed in vampire run hotels which had check in and check out after dark.

For a while, we went to his old territory. His childe, Bianca, and her Solus Amor, Gavin, hosted us. They reminded me of Victor when I met them. Both were cool and businesslike.

Gavin didn't really like me, to start. He would call me 'dhampyr' when Victor wasn't around. It never felt like a curse word until he said it.

One day, I found him sitting in the library over a game of chess that he was playing with himself. I asked him to teach me. He didn't really want to, but I told him how much Victor would love it if I learned something new from him. Gavin reluctantly agreed.

He started softening to me a little on the third day, when I made an aggressive move he didn't think I would make in the game. He told me it was a foolish move, but had a hard time telling me why. I never won a game against him, but I made him smile a few times and counted that as my win.

The funniest part was when Marius told me he and Lila were coming for a visit. I was chattering about my papa the entire time I played with Gavin. He kept making comments about how he couldn't believe someone was so foolish as to create a dhampyr against the express ruling of the Council.

I laughed so hard, I fell down when he finally met my papa and managed to go even paler than he'd been before. After that, he treated me with a lot more respect. I was the daughter of Death, after all.

The last place we visited was Marius' territory. He was throwing a ball to introduce me to the powerful vampires of the world. Masters from all over accepted his invitation.

Lila took me to purchase a ball gown at a local shop. They were beside themselves wanting to help the mate and daughter of the Master of their territory. I smiled and was polite to everyone I met.

We found a dress that was a lovely shade of blue. It had no straps to hold it up, but came off the shoulder. It was full length and we found some lovely white silk gloves to go with it. Lila said it was required. Unlike the ball we'd had in Victor's territory, all women would be wearing their hair up and off their shoulders. No one was hunting for a mate at this event.

The night of the ball, I entered the ballroom of Marius' estate. There were hundreds of vampires. Talia and the rest of the council were standing with Marius and Lila. I saw a beautiful young woman with dark skin standing next to Talia. "Master Victor Nightshade, The Hunter, and his Solus Amor, Mistress Echo Aconitum Nightshade." The man at the top of the stairs announced.

The whole room went still and turned their attention to us. The attention alone would have made me nervous in the past, now, I was more confident in myself. Plus, I was on the arm of the most handsome man there.

Victor was wearing a tuxedo with tails and a cummerbund that matched the shade of my dress. I didn't know how he managed to find one so fast, but I was impressed. The stately air around him made me feel even more confident. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Marius took my hand and kissed it. Whispers swept through the room. He bowed to Victor, inciting even more whispers. Victor released me with a polite smile and bowed back to Marius. Marius led me to a raised platform where musicians sat in formal attire with their instruments. He had them stop playing and was handed a microphone by someone near the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please." He stated firmly.

We already had everyone's attention, but they all went silent. I stood next to Marius confidently. If he was going to announce me as his daughter, then I needed to not back down or seem easily frightened.

"Some of you may have heard rumors of a past dalliance I had creating a line of dhampyrs. That is true. The descendants of that encounter have reached out to me and I have accepted them as my children. Though all three are important to me, I am presenting only one to you tonight. My daughter, Echo.

Echo is the most vampiric of her siblings. She holds the most of my power and other powers that are rare and unique. Earlier this year, she found her Solus Amor, Victor Nightshade and they had their bonding ceremony, which was attended by the Vampire High Council.

There has been a long history of dhampyrs being mistreated and abused by vampires. I am making you all aware now, any mistreatment of my child or her siblings will be punishable by a slow and painful death.

I thank you all for coming to this celebration of finding my missing child. Please enjoy yourselves and make sure to greet my daughter properly when you see her." Marius announced. "Echo, is there anything you'd like to say to everyone?" Posted by FindNovel.net; visit us for more free novels.

He handed me the microphone, even though I hadn't agreed. I took it and looked around the room. Victor was standing with the members of the Council still. He had a very proud expression on his face.

"Thank you all, very much, for coming to our ball. I look forward to meeting you all individually." I said with a small blush creeping into my cheeks.

There was a smattering of applause after I handed the microphone back. I really didn't know what else to say. He led me off the platform and the music started again.

When I returned to where Victor was, he kissed me on the cheek. Phoebe smiled at me.

"You looked so sweet up there. A total contrast to your sire." She chuckled. "Everyone will be wondering how Marius sired such a pretty young thing as you." "You're hilarious, Phoebe." Marius replied coldly.

"I never actually realized the physical resemblance between the two of you until you were up there together. Mari totally looks like her father." Felix said. "Echo, I want you to meet my Solus Amor, Zendaya." Talia smiled, changing the subject.

"It's nice to meet you." I said to the woman next to her.

"You as well. It's wonderful to see our Victor so happy. He's been rather sad or angry for most of his second life." Zendaya said. "Now, when will we get grandchildren? I want you to bring them to my territory two to three times a year. I fully intend to spoil them beyond belief."

I blushed hard and looked at the floor. No one had talked about babies in a while. I knew that Victor and Gray had been told I couldn't have any until I was closer to nineteen, so we'd not been making any plans for them.

"Once Echo is old enough, we'll let you know if we end up pregnant. Until that time, we're just letting Echo relax and enjoy being pampered and cared for." Victor answered with a slight smile. "Mistress Zendaya."

"You know you're allowed to call me by my name, Victor. You're practically my childe as well. Who knew your little temper tantrum would lead you to such a blessing? I'm proud of you for taking something negative and turning it into a positive." She told him. He rolled his eyes. "I'm taking Echo around to meet people. No one will approach the High Council or anyone near them."

Victor took my hand and led me around the room. He took me to meet other children of Talia. I saw Rosalyn there and she grinned widely at me.

Her Solus Amor was a fairly cheerful man. He made sure her glass was always full and doted on her. He tried joking with Victor and looked truly shocked when Victor joked back.

The rest of the night, I met more vampires than I think I even realized existed. Men danced with me and tried to get me to promise an alliance with them. They wanted to be allied with Death's daughter and the Traveler's childe. They all believed we had more power over our sires than we did.

I directed each of them to Victor. He made decisions about who would be good and bad to ally with. We came out of it with several good alliances which he said would benefit our territory.

We fell into bed that morning, exhausted. Victor had helped me undress and we curled up together. He wasn't the vigorous, constant, lover that Gray was.

Victor never ushered me into dark corners in public to do things with me. He didn't randomly place my hand on his erection while we were sitting together or slide his hand under my skirt. He wouldn't suddenly pick me up and carry me to the nearest flat surface, like Gray did.

Instead, Victor was a more romantic lover. He nibbled my ear as we watched plays. He sucked sweet sauces off of my fingers. He would kiss me all over until I was begging for him, then make love to me slowly and languorously. It was always a passionate play on the senses and not a carnal rush.

I loved both of them so much and, by the end of our time in Europe, I came to miss being with both of them. My fiery wolf and my cool vampire. Apart, they were wonderful, but together, they were amazing.

It wasn't that I didn't like being alone with them. I loved all the time I spent with them individually, but, when we were all together, I felt complete and whole. Everyone seemed to expect us all to be together as well.

Gray's family started holding all holiday meals after sunset so Victor could join. Thanksgiving was the first time I ever got to have a fresh Thanksgiving meal. When I said that, it made all the ex-Lunas start piling even more food on my plate.

I was able to spend a lot more time with Val and Harmony, too. Uncle Preston brought his family to visit for Christmas and we spent all day with them.

Lisa and her mate, Neil, moved into the guest house. Wendell got a room in the main house. And we had guest cottages built for the rogues who moved to our property to protect it. They were all retired males who didn't want to go fight in the wilds, but wanted something to do while they aged. They were all very kind to me.

It was New Year's Eve the next time I was at a party with Victor. This time Gray and my siblings came. It was a black tie event at the more upscale club Dennis owned. I was starting to get used to events like this. Vampires did them a lot.

I had just finished a chat with one of the vampires in the territory who was having issues with a rogue family who was living on his land. We set an appointment for him to come see Victor and get it resolved with Bellamy, when Val came up to me.

He handed me a glass of champaign and we had a little toast. Harmony glared at us from across the room. She was pregnant and couldn't sneak any drinks. We wouldn't let her.

"I'm doing my soulmate search on our nineteenth birthday. Uncle Preston says he's going to come up to help me with the spell. It's usually prepared by an older family member." Val explained. "Are you excited to finally find your mate?" I asked.

"After seeing how happy you and Harmony are, more excited than anything. There's someone out there who is a perfect match for me and she's just waiting to be found, Echo." He smiled.

"I'm sure you will find the perfect girl. She'll be exactly what you need, though, not necessarily what you want. I don't want you to write her off if she's not perfect in every way." I warned.

"As long as she's not an actual goblin or troll, I'll be fine." Val laughed.

"Trolls can be very nice people. You're going to regret saying that one day." I said.

"No stealing all of Echo's time, Val. I need to dance with my wife before the new year comes." Gray chided, walking over to us.

He was in a very nice suit, but looked terribly uncomfortable. Gray hated these black tie events. He would try to get out of them if he could.

I saw Sean and Rosario come into the room and waved them over. They were looking handsome, healthy, and happy. We had game nights every Friday night at Maeve's house. Sean taught me how to play his game and I had a lot of fun with it. "Are you ready for your first New Year's Eve, Echo?" Sean asked with a grin.

"I'm still confused about the traditions." I sighed.

"What's confusing? When the clock strikes midnight, you kiss someone. You have two whole men to choose from." Rosario laughed.

"But you said it's for good luck and I want them both to have good luck this year. Do you think I can kiss them both in enough time?" I asked.

"There's no real magic to it. I think you can definitely kiss them both in enough time." Sean told me.

We hung out and talked, while we sipped on our drinks. Harmony and Cam came over to join us. They both sipped sparkling apple cider. Harmony told him if she couldn't drink, he couldn't drink.

When time came for the countdown, Victor found his way to my side. We counted down the seconds to the new year and I gave each of them a peck on the lips before turning to someone who had tapped me on the shoulder for a picture.

What I hadn't realized at the time, was that Victor and Gray both decided to kiss me back and, instead of kissing my cheeks, they ended up kissing each other. And I missed it! They refused to do it again for me.

Luckily, I still had the picture, which the lady gladly sent to me before disappearing and never revealing it again. I made sure she understood the danger. I planned to have it blown up for our anniversary and framed. It was a great shot of me looking cute and them making out behind me.

I couldn't wait to see what the next year would bring. I was finally free, finally loved, and finally happy. There was nothing more that I could possibly want.