The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 24

[Echo]

Victor spun me around in a giant hug as I squealed and held on to him. I knew he would drop me, but I was a little afraid I would fly out of his arms. None of that marble looked like it would create a soft landing. "You did amazing, little one! They accepted right away and we were able to get something done instead of posturing all night! Great work, Echo!" He grinned.

"It's my job, Victor! Calm down!" I squeaked as he tossed me a little.

"You deserve another reward. Anything you want, princess." Victor kissed my cheek.

I didn't know what I wanted. After the experience with the wolf boy, I certainly didn't want to go out and eat again. When Victor got up in the afternoon, he told me I would have Saturdays off. I had pretty much everything I could want. "Can I save it for later?" I asked. "I can't think right now."

"Of course, sweetheart. It's getting late. You should head to bed so you can enjoy the whole day tomorrow. Don't worry about any cleaning up, I'll do it when I wake. Just have fun and relax, okay?"

"Are you sure? I can have fun and take care of the house at the same time, you know?" I giggled.

"Absolutely certain. If you want, I can ask Drew to take you to a movie or a museum or the zoo." He offered.

I laughed. "I think I've dealt with enough animals lately. Maybe next weekend. I think this Saturday, I'm going to be a slug and read or play video games." I told him as he set me back on my feet. "Then go rest so you can be the best slug ever." Victor patted me on the head and pushed me off toward the stairs.

I went up to get ready for bed. When he woke up, Victor was a little mad about the wolf incident, but he got over it. He talked about changing me to the other public high school in town, but I didn't know how to drive and the bus wouldn't have picked me up. I told him that I would avoid the wolf and keep turning him down.

It was really the only option. I didn't want to lose the chance to see my sister and brother every weekday. Maybe the wolf would take the hint if I did that often enough.

Not that he wasn't cute. He was a little taller than Victor and had some nice muscles and a sweet smile. His eyes were a dark chocolate brown and his hair was as black as mine. I just didn't want anything more than what I had.

One day, I might look for a relationship or something, but I just wanted to normalize for a bit. Help Victor with his territory and other needs. Figure out who I really am and how to use whatever abilities I had from being a dhampyr. I needed to be able to protect myself. For now, I was just going to enjoy my time off.

***

Most of Saturday was spent playing games and snacking. I really liked racing games, but was really bad at anything with guns or one on one fighting. I really loved the games with good stories where I could choose what my character would do. It was a type of game that really hit on my desire for freedom.

I was hanging upside down on the couch, playing Dragon Age when my phone alarm went off. I paused the game and went upstairs to turn on the blankets for Rosalynn and Victor. He said it was my day off, but that was no reason they shouldn't wake up warm. When I made it back to the family room, I curled up on the couch and resumed my game. I'd gotten pretty far when I decided to go find something for dinner. Looking at the clock, I saw it was about eight at night. Later than I normally had dinner. I walked past the office and Victor called me in.

"Have a seat, Echo." He said with a fairly serious tone.

I sat in the seat next to Rosalynn. She looked pretty serious, too. It made me nervous. I hated being nervous.

"I was contacted just a little while ago by the Alpha of the local wolf pack. He's like their master. He wants to meet with us."

"You, Talon, and Silence?" I asked hopefully.

"No. You and me. I'm pretty sure it has to do with the wolf from the restaurant. I know it's your day off, but I need you for this meeting. They're on their way."

"Why now? Couldn't they do it tomorrow night?" I whined.

"No. You have school Monday. I want you in bed early tomorrow night. Go get dressed. We'll put together something to feed them." Victor ordered.

"Don't do that! You'll kill them. If they're supposed to leave this meeting alive, just set out the cookies in the cookie jar and make some coffee. The instructions are written on the can. I'll be down shortly, boil some water for tea and I can make that." I replied and jogged out of the room.

Just for this crap, I'm siding with the elves in the game. Freaking werewolves, ruining my day off. I hated them so much. Maybe I should let Victor try and cook them something....

An hour later, I had the tea and coffee services set out with a plate of cookies and the house was cleaned up a little. I'd saved and turned off my game, hoping to play for a little while tomorrow. The house wasn't hard to care for, I should have a little time. The wolves arrived and I opened the gate. Victor and Rosalynn were seated in the living room. He'd moved the ottoman to sit between their chairs and told me I'd sit there after showing the wolves in.

There was a knock at the door and I pulled it open. A tall man with dark hair stood in front of me. On one side of him was Gray and on the other was my brother Val. If I weren't in work mode, I would have gaped in surprised. Instead, I put on my working smile and greeted them. "May I please have your names?" I asked.

"Trent Padua, Alpha of the Hallowed Moon Pack, my brother Grayson Padua, and a friend of our pack, Valor Gale." The tall man responded.

"Please come in, I will announce your arrival to my master." I bowed and waved them in.

Val walked past slowly and I reached out to grasp his hand. How had they caught my brother? Did they have Harmony, too? I needed Victor to help me save them. I was playing video games while werewolves were capturing my sister and brother. My heart sank. He squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"I love you, Valley." I whispered.

"I love you, too, Echo." He replied quietly.

I headed into the living room and stood by the entry. Victor could see that I was upset, but he only looked concerned for a moment. He wouldn't let this get in the way of whatever had to happen here.

"Master, Alpha Trent Padua, his brother Grayson, and their friend, Valor Gale, have arrived." I stated.

Victor stiffened at my brother's name and stood as they all entered. He shook hands with the Alpha and waved him to the couch.

"Gentlemen, please have some coffee and snacks. Our Echo is a wonderful cook. I can't eat, but they always smell delightful." Victor smiled graciously.

I moved to the coffee table to pour coffee and tea for everyone. Val and Gray both tried to catch my eye, but I wasn't in any mood to deal with this. I just needed to know what the werewolves were threatening by bringing my brother here. When I was done, I sat on the ottoman and folded my hands in my lap.

"You were vague on the phone, Alpha. What can I do for you and your pack?" Victor asked.

"It's been a long time since the area had a proper master vampire. I was hoping to secure an alliance between our peoples. You've been cleaning up your brood. We want to help keep the peace in the area." The Alpha smiled.

"What exactly do you have to offer? Even with my territory in its current disarray, we are more powerful than your pack. Is this the reason you've brought my servant's brother with you? Are you planning to bargain with the life of her family?" Victor questioned coldly. I saw Val look at me, but I kept my face cold as well. I wouldn't let the wolves know how worried I was. Victor would save my sister and brother if he could. He saved me. If nothing else, I'd call Marius and ask him to help.

"Of course not. He wanted to see his sister and asked to come along. Their other sister is still dealing with some... emotional... things. When they talked to their parents, as your servant instructed, they were kicked out of their home and disowned. They don't blame her, but it upset Harmony a great deal." Trent said.

"We really don't, Echo. They were evil, terrible people." Val insisted.

"Did they give you the money they promised?" I asked.

"No. We don't need their money. Cam is a werewolf. The pack promised to take care of me and Harmony since she's his mate." Val said.

"I will give you the money they were supposed to give you. Echo allowed herself to be sold to secure that financial future for you. I will not let her intentions be thwarted by selfish creatures." Victor promised.

If I could have smiled at him, I would have, but I was in work mode and couldn't be anything but his servant. Later, I planned to give him the biggest hug.

"We don't want any money from you, either. You bought our sister. If you want to give us something, give us Echo." Val replied with a growl.

"No." I said.

He looked shocked at my dismissal of his request. If they were safe, then I wanted to stay with Victor. I didn't have anything else, and I was sure Gray had influenced this request with his 'mate' talk. "Echo, you don't have to stay here. We can take you somewhere safe. Just come with us. Please." Val pled.

"No." I repeated.

"Stop using mind control on her, Nightshade! Let her go!" Gray growled.

"I don't need a dog. I am not unsafe. I am where I belong. This meeting is about an alliance, not about my address. Please stick to the task at hand. I'm giving up my night off for this." I sneered.

Victor snickered as Gray's face fell. I didn't want to be there, and I wanted to be there even less when they started trying to 'save' me. If the wolf pack was taking care of Val and Harmony, I was fine with that. As long as it was their choice and not because the wolves thought it would buy them leeway with my master.

"What we offer is assistance in whatever capacity you require." Trent told Victor, getting back to the task at hand.

Gray got a look on his face. It was distant for a moment. Then Trent got the same look. It was pretty weird.

"I'm not pretending anything, Gray. If you can't behave, I'll send you out to the car. When I heard there was a new master vampire in the territory, I knew an alliance would be beneficial to everyone involved. The fact that your mate is his servant only served to help me gain the information we needed to contact him without letting less savory vampires know what we were doing." Trent scoffed.