The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 34

"Have the tests been completed?" He asked.

"Yes, Master Marius." Victor said and shared the results.

"Stand up so I can look you over." Marius ordered.

Valor stood and walked over, looking down at our sire. He stuck out his hand. Marius looked him over and took his hand, staring directly into his eyes.

I felt a wave of annoyance wash over me. He was trying his mind control on Val. I bit my lips together.

Val smiled and shook Marius' hand. A smirking smile crossed Marius' face. I was relieved when the wave of annoyance passed.

"Very impressive. You're a handsome young man. I'll eagerly await the reports on your growth." He told Val.

Harmony had moved around the coffee table and stood next to Val. Marius turned to her. She swallowed nervously and put out her hand.

Marius took it and looked her up and down, stopping at her eyes. A slight growl came from Cam. I felt the annoyance again and watched my sister.

She also smiled as she moved her other hand to fully encircle Marius' thick hand. His eyes softened for a moment before he shook his head. I wondered at what had just happened.

"You're a powerful little thing. I wonder if Echo can do that once she's up to her full strength." Marius chuckled.

"What happened?" I asked.

"She can use mind control as well. She wanted me to like her. You must be a very popular girl and it never occurred to you why people seemed to like you immediately. No one has successfully used mind control on me since my sire passed on. Quite impressive." I was proud of my sister. She was strong and impressed someone very powerful. Val had resisted the mind control too. It meant they were safer than before. No vampire could control them if Marius couldn't.

"I've promised to take Rosalynn home. Come with me, child. I'll tell you how this works and we can get you home. Victor, will you need me for anything else this evening?" Marius asked.

"No, Master Marius. I'm planning to work on cleaning up my territory this evening." Victor said.

"Does that mean Echo will be all alone?" Gray asked.

"The wolves that are guarding the property will move in closer to the house while I'm gone. Echo will always be protected and me clearing out the troublemakers from the territory will ensure that they never have the chance to try and hurt her. I will never let them harm her again." Victor vowed.

I couldn't help myself and ran to him to hug him. I pressed my ear to his chest while he stroked my hair and held me close. There was a growl from behind me. Like an animal.

Releasing Victor, I turned. Gray was standing, glaring over my head. I followed his glare and saw Victor staring him in the eye.

"Gray. Chill, man. She's just grateful he's protecting her. Echo hasn't had a lot of people hugging her in her life. If she's this comfortable with him, you should be happy for her. She'll never warm up to you if you keep doing this." Val warned Gray.

"I can't stop Rex from being jealous. Especially when he gets that smug look on his face." Gray growled.

"His face didn't change. He didn't even look at you until you growled." Cam said.

I walked over to Gray, drawing his attention from Victor. This wasn't his fault. His wolf was an animal I was betting his wolf's jealousy crossed over to Gray. He really was trying.

He promised he was trying hard. He stopped trying to push after our talk outside. He didn't even try to catch my eye while we were working.

I reached out and took his hand, stroking it like I'd seen Harmony stroke Cam's arm. Gray seemed to relax like Cam had. It was part of that mate bond that he was talking about.

"Stop being jealous, Rex. I'm your friend, too. When I'm comfortable around you I'll hug you more too. I promise." I said softly.

He covered my hands with his other one. His hands were so hot compared to the cooler temperature of Victor. I felt a little flushed as his hands warmed mine.

"I'm sorry. I keep reminding him. This is what you can offer. It's what we'll learn to accept. Thank you for not being mad at us." He murmured.

"While this is terribly entertaining, we should get moving, Rosalynn. I am still working to arrange training for Echo. This is only taking time away from my negotiations." Marius said with a scoff.

"Our pack is friendly with some of the light witches around here. I'll have Trent contact them. We'll find out about the suppression spell and see if it's affecting you even a little. I want you to be healthy and at full strength, Echo." Gray said as he stroked the back of my hands.

I pulled back nervously. It was weird how comfortable it started getting. I went to stand next to Victor again. Marius and Rosalynn left the room.

"Would you like me to make you some tea?" I asked Victor.

"No, Echo. Have fun here with your friends. I have to start getting things ready for my work tonight. Will you make sure I have extra towels in my bathroom?" He asked.

"Of course. Will you let me know when you leave and come back?"

"I'll see you before I leave and in the morning. I want you to be rested for school tomorrow. No staying up after I leave." He told me.

I nodded and he left. I looked around the room. Harmony was hugging Cam, Val was standing not far from me, and Gray was where I left him.

"I... I don't know what else to do right now." I blushed.

"We should probably head out so you can do your chores for the day. We'll get things sorted on our end and let you know what's going on. We'll see you in school tomorrow. Make sure you get some rest." Val said.

I didn't want to ask them not to go. I hated the idea of being alone, but it needed to happen. They needed to go home for dinner and bed, Victor needed to go out, Rosalynn needed to go home.

Soon, everyone, but Victor, was gone. I went to the kitchen to pull out the ingredients for my dinner. Today had been good, though. I made new friends and got to experience school. It was a lot of fun and I would get to do it again tomorrow.

This time, I wouldn't be as clueless. I would be sure of myself and I would focus on where I needed to go. I moved the laundry to the dryer and unloaded the dishwasher before I started cooking.

As I was sitting down to eat, Victor came into the kitchen. He was wearing a black t-shirt and black slacks. I smiled at him as he eyed my meal.

It was high in protein and iron. I made sure of that. It was one of the things that Victor and Marius told me I needed in order to be healthy.

I'd already started gaining some weight. Soon I'd be a little thicker, like Harmony and my face would become a little rounder. I knew that I looked almost exactly like my sister and I would be a paler version of her when I was healthy.

"You stay in the house tonight. I want you to take your bath and go to bed after you finish your work. Understand, princess?"

"You have to go?" I asked.

"I need to make this territory safe for you, Echo. I can't have these disobedient vampires in my territory. I wouldn't go if I didn't have to, you know that. I'll be back home before you get up in the morning." He promised.

I nodded and he kissed the top of my head. I sat there, nibbling my food as I heard the front door open and close, followed by the locks clicking. Suddenly, the peaceful quietness didn't seem as comfortable anymore.

Once I finished my dinner, I worked on a lunch for tomorrow and did the dishes. When I was done, I picked a book from the library before heading upstairs to start my bath. Victor couldn't get too mad if I got wrapped up in a book and accidentally stayed up until he came home.

After I was done in the bath, I pulled out some fuzzy pink pants and a tank top that I would sleep in. I piled up my pillows and situated myself so I was sitting up and opened up the book.

In the beginning, it was hard to focus on the book. Any little sound made me jump. Soon, I was entranced by the story.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but the feeling of the book being pulled gently from my grasp woke me up a little. Victor stood next to my bed in his pajama pants with slightly damp hair. He must have just showered.

He folded my bookmark into the pages of the book I was reading and set it down on the nightstand. I smiled at him tiredly and he sighed, sitting on the side of my bed.

"I told you to go to sleep, not stay up reading, little one." He chided.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him tight. I knew I was scared, but not how much until Victor was there. I was so happy he was home.

"Don't leave me again, Victor. Please." I murmured.

"I'll stay with you until you fall asleep. I promised I would come home. I would never break a promise to you, sweetheart. I love you, Echo." He whispered, stroking my hair.

I sat up and tugged him to lay down with me, after rearranging my pillows. Victor laid with me and I snuggled into the curve of his body, with my head on his chest. I needed him to be close to me.

"I love you, Victor. Don't go away again. It's too soon for you to go away." I whimpered.

"Alright, Echo. I'll get someone to take care of this for me. I will have to take care of things eventually, but I'll give you as much time as I can. Don't cry anymore, sweetheart. I'm right here. I'll be here for as long as you need me." Victor said gently.

The peaceful quiet came back when he was there. The house felt happier, fuller, not empty and scary. I knew I should feel terrible about acting like this, but I couldn't I needed Victor. I needed him so badly that I ached when he was gone. It felt like my heart was empty.