The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 20

Gray

I went through the rest of my shift on autopilot. She rejected me. She didn't even know anything about werewolves and she rejected me. For a f*****g vampire.

It wasn't a real rejection, though. I knew she was still connected to me. She didn't say she rejected me, only that she was sorry. I could work with that. I had to have her. Echo belonged with me.

Once my shift was over, I changed and ran to my car. I wanted to get home fast and talk to Trent. There had to be something he could do to help me. My brother was the best Alpha in the world. He always took good care of our family and the pack. When I arrived at the pack house, I went to my brother's office. He was always up lately. I knew it was because of something with the vampires in the territory, but not what. I would find out, though. Maybe I could actually be helpful.

I waited after knocking on the door. Trent opened the door. He looked haggard. His eyes had dark circles and his dark hair was disheveled.

"What do you want, Gray?" He sighed.

"I found my mate, Trent. I need help. She almost rejected me." I confided.

"Come in." He moved away from the door and I entered.

I hadn't realized his Beta, Mike, and Gamma, Ben, were there. They'd heard. I saw the pity in their eyes. I knew they felt sorry for me, maybe I could work with that.

"Is she from the pack?" He asked, sitting on an armchair and waving me over to the couch.

Sitting, I sighed. I needed to get her away from the vampires. I needed to know more about the thing she called herself. My brother was the smartest Alpha ever. He'd know and he'd help me save her from the leeches that held her.

"She's not. Her name is Echo. I thought she was human, but she told me she was a dhampyr. I don't know what that means. The new head of the territory is holding her. He's made her his servant. I need to save her. Once she's away from him, she'll understand." I explained.

"The new master of the territory? You met him? Where?" Trent stared at me intently.

"At my work. They were seated in my section. Why?" I asked.

"He's been killing vampires since he got here. They're all terrified. According to our sources, he hunted down one of his own children. This guy used magic, money, and called in every favor he had to escape his master. Nothing worked. He searched for fifteen years, then killed all the childe's friends first. What's his name?" Trent pressed.

"Victor. I have to save her! If he's that single minded and deadly, she could be in danger! She defended me to them! What if they're hurting her right now!?" I started to panic.

She hadn't really been rejecting me, she was only trying to keep herself safe. Her master was crazy and violent. I'd messed up and she had to go against her heart to try and save me. I was such an idiot sometimes.

"Let's get that out to the pack members I want to find out where he lives." Trent said.

I was thrilled that he wanted to save my mate as much as I did. We could get all the warriors together and attack during the day. Drag his dead body out to the sun and free my beautiful Echo from whatever hold he had on her.

"I looked that word up in the catalogue of supernatural beings." Mike told Trent.

He passed a thick old book to Trent who looked it over and then handed it to Ben. The three of them wore concerned looks. That couldn't be good. "What? What is she?" I asked.

"She's half human and half vampire, Gray. She has all of the strengths and few of the weaknesses of both. But, according to this, if she's his servant. There's nothing we can do. It means he has the backing of her sire and any ally he permits to use her." Trent sighed. "Permits to use her? What the hell does that mean?!" I growled.

"Dhampyrs are pretty much the only ones who can have babies with vampires without problems. It's super rare for a vampire to have a living child. They pay a lot and create alliances in order to secure a child of their own blood." He replied.

"They said it was her reward dinner. There was another couple there. Did he... did he let them impregnate my mate? I'll f*****g kill him! Let me know if you find out where they live. I'm going to save my mate. We can figure out what to do if she's pregnant with their baby, but I want her safely home with me." I told them forcefully.

"I understand. Let us figure out if there's another option. It says that some vampires are willing to sell their dhampyr servants. We might be able to buy her. Just, go calm down and get some rest. Dad's going to be pissed if you skip school tomorrow." Trent said. "Fine. You'll let me know, though, right? I want to be involved in anything regarding Echo. She's mine." I growled.

"I'll let you know. Go on, now. I'll see you tomorrow." He promised, pushing me from the room.

I walked up to my room and laid on my bed. Pulling out my phone, I looked at the picture I managed to sneak of my mate. She was beautiful, caring, and innocent. I couldn't imagine anyone more perfect for me.

No fucking vampire was going to keep my Echo from me. I'd help her see she was safe. Then she'd accept me and we could be happy.

-

[Victor]

-

I pulled out a couple files and started sorting. I needed to get the data entered so I could keep track of the vampires in my territory. Silence's side work would have to wait.

That damned werewolf kept popping into my head. Over and over. Those big watery eyes, trying to take my Echo from me.

How could he honestly think she would want a simpering pup? Echo was strong in ways I wasn't expecting. She didn't like overly excitable or emotional people. He wasn't good enough for her.

If she wanted a mate, I would find her one. I would find her the best and most appropriate mate possible. Not a child who thought with his emotions and not his brain. Though, the look on his face when she said she didn't care what his goddess thought was pretty amusing.

I was surprised he tried to talk to her after that. It was clear she wanted nothing to do with him and his goddess. It made me angry. I knew when they touched their mates, even if the mate wasn't a wolf, there was a spark.

She hadn't felt it. She couldn't be his mate. Echo wouldn't lie to me about that. She never lied about important things.

Turning back to my files, I focused on getting them inputted into a spreadsheet. I had no idea how many of these vampires even still existed. When I would come across one I knew I'd disposed of, I would mark them as deceased in case their sire or any children came looking for them.

I contacted Talon and Silence to have them come tomorrow night for a meeting and to ask them to be my supports. I knew they'd say yes because of Marius' backing. No one wanted to be on the bad side of Death.

Master Marius popped in to let me know he was going home to settle any issues in his own territory and that he would return the following night to oversee the meeting. I was grateful to Echo for thinking to get his backing. It would make taking over this territory much easier.

I decided to let her have Saturday off. For the last ten years, her Saturdays were something to be feared. I'd let her do whatever she wanted and make sure she had an enjoyable day. She deserved it.

The rest of the night was spent with Rosy, getting the information put into the computer. I needed to figure out how to get another census done and I had to get blood oaths from the vampires who wanted to stay in my territory. It was the best way to keep them under control.

Rosy suggested getting a list from Silence. She would have many of the vampires who lived in the area in her files. I texted her asking her to bring a printout of those who were in her database. After getting her response, I got back to work.

The paperwork was the worst part of taking over a territory. I had a couple letters from the past master of the territory, which I put into my drawer to read later. The history of the territory and the relations with other supernatural beings were the most important part of all of this information. Even through the boring stuff, I was thrilled to be the master of a territory again.

One of my children had stepped up to care for my old territory, it was why I didn't try to get it back. She was very capable and had successfully grown the territory. The vampires there were completely loyal to her now.

When I heard Echo in the kitchen, I packed up the files and saved my work. I went out to talk to her about the meeting. She was pouring a bowl of cereal. Something that smelled sweet and fruity with all sorts of bright colors.

"I don't see any protein, Echo." I chided.

"I did some research. Milk has protein and so does the peanut butter on my toast. I don't have to eat a ton of meat, Victor." She smiled.

I was glad she was thinking of other ways to get protein. I wasn't terribly familiar with the nutritional value of most foods humans ate. It was probably something I should learn if I was going to monitor her diet.

"You look very pretty today." I told her.

Echo was wearing a light blue blouse with a black skirt that went to her knees, white tights, and black flats. Her hair was in a braid and she'd added some eye shadow, which was perfect. Not too much makeup, just enough to brighten her. "Thank you. I wanted to look nice. I don't really know what I'm doing." Echo laughed.

"Don't worry. This is just clerical. You don't have to make a good impression. Tonight, Silence and another vampire called Talon are coming for a meeting. I want you to make dinner for their human servants. After that, I have a lot more work to do with those files." I said with a sigh.

"Would you like me to help? I can organize papers. I'm still learning computers. I wasn't allowed to touch them." She replied.

"Any help would be welcome. The more hands, the faster we're done."

"Great! I'll figure out dinner and go shopping for ingredients today. Would you like me to make tea for your meeting?" Echo asked.

"Yes, please. I'd better get to bed. Have a good day, Echo."

"Thank you, Victor. Sleep well. I'll see you when you wake up." She smiled.

I left her to her breakfast. When I got to my room, I started the heated blanket warming. I liked the idea of going to sleep warm and waking up warm. The difference in the house was amazing, Echo was a dream, and I was experiencing creature comforts I hadn't imagined possible.