The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 46

[Victor]

I woke to a cold bed and the scent of wolf outside my bedroom door. Echo should have been home by now. The wolf I was smelling wasn't Grayson.

Flying out of bed, I unlocked my door to find Brandon, one of the guard wolves, pacing in the hallway. He was clearly upset. I went to Echo's room and threw open the door. She wasn't there. "Where is my servant?" I asked sternly.

"She was getting the mail after being dropped off just after noon. The man who jogs every day talked to her for a bit. A van parked a little way down the street. I started walking out to see what was going on, when he punched her and picked her up, running to the van. I never could tell before, but once I caught up, I smelled it. He was a rogue. The van drove off. I ran after them for as long as I could, but the passenger started throwing powdered wolf's bane out the window. I memorized the van and its plate, but I couldn't catch up. I called Alpha Trent and he has people on it." Brandon explained as my anger grew.

"You let someone take Echo." I growled.

I was furious. These wolves were supposed to take care of her while I slept and they let someone take my Echo from right in front of our home. She trusted them more than I had, but they failed. I failed. I failed to keep her safe.

"Sir, I swear, I did everything I could. We'll find her and return her to you. I promise. When we find the rogues, we'll tear them apart for taking her. We all like Echo. We don't want her to be hurt. I've been kicking myself for not moving faster or sensing the danger sooner." He told me.

"I need to call Marius. It would be best if you weren't here when he arrives. He already doesn't like wolves and Echo is like a daughter to him. Go to Trent and figure out what's going on. Report to me via phone. I can't leave here until full dark." I ordered. "Yes, sir. I'll leave right away." He bowed and ran down the hall.

It had been hours. What must those rogues be doing to her? Why did they take her? Was it because I created an alliance with the Hallowed Moon Pack?

Marius would take her from me over this, I knew it. Keeping it from him would be deadly. I checked in the room he would sleep in when visiting, and he wasn't there. He'd not come to visit since Tuesday.

If I could get her back without him finding out, he would be less likely to take her from me. He was one of the most powerful vampires I knew. I needed that sort of strength. Talia.

I pulled out my phone as I headed to my office. I had the number for the place she was staying and her cell number. I knew she wasn't supposed to come for another week, but I needed her now. I needed to save Echo.

Once in my office I dialed her cell number and waited as it rang. It felt like the phone rang forever before it was picked up by her voicemail. Damn it. She could be sleeping for all I knew.

Quickly, I dialed the number of the place she was staying. I was hoping she had left her phone somewhere and was actually awake and wandering around like she tended to. The line rang three times before it was picked up. "Lune Rouge, this is Alpha Lucien." A powerful male voice answered.

"Alpha, this is Victor Nightshade. I'm the childe of Talia. I'm trying to reach her, but she's not answering her phone. It's an emergency and I need to speak with her as quickly as possible." I said. "She's with my mate and children. She probably turned her phone off. I linked and she should be here soon. Is this emergency something that will endanger my mate while she's there?" He asked.

"I don't believe so. It does have to do with rogue wolves. I don't know if she would consider them dangerous as she's a rogue Queen." I told him.

"How many?"

"At least three." I responded.

"Three is no concern for my Bellamy. Are you needing them there sooner? I need to know so I can get everyone prepared while you speak to Talia." Lucien said.

"You're very obliging for an Alpha wolf." I observed.

"Talia is a dear friend to my mate. If not for her, Bellamy would have probably died before I got the chance to meet her. I love my mate dearly and that love extends to those who helped her live and grow into the woman she is. Now, tell me so I can get things moving." He insisted.

"I will need them sooner. Some rogues have taken the girl they're coming to train. I don't know what they intend to do to her. It's been about five hours since she was taken. Every minute she's gone means a higher chance they could kill her." I told him. "No. If rogues took her, instead of killing her right there, they want something from her. There's a good chance you'll find her alive. The fact that it was several and not one means it's not an obsessed ex-pack looking for a forced mate. They may just be waiting for evening to contact you for a ransom." Lucien assured me.

"I hope it's just that, but I need her able to protect herself. The wolves who were supposed to take care of her failed. I need Echo to be safe. I took her from a horrible situation, I promised her she would be safe with me." I admitted.

"You feel like you failed her. I get that. You care for the vampires in your territory, I care for the wolves in mine. There are those who need us more than others and when you can't keep them protected it feels like a failure as the person they look to. I'm sure she won't see it that way. You may be a vampire, but you're just a man. You aren't all powerful. This isn't something you could have stopped, they took her in the middle of the day. Here's Talia." He said.

For all that his talk was making me feel better, I was still hurting. I didn't know where my Echo was. She could be... they could be... I didn't want to think of the things rogue wolves could do to a defenseless girl. "Victor. Lucien just filled me in. Did you call Marius?" Talia asked.

"No. I didn't want him to get angry and take her from me." I answered, feeling like a child.

Talia sighed. "You never grow up, do you? I'm calling Marius to bring me to you. Bellamy and the boys will come up in their vehicles. It's a few hours out to your home from Lune Rouge. I want to try and find the girl quickly. Marius told me she is more than half vampire. You know that doesn't happen unless one of her parents was a full vampire and the other was a half vampire. She is unique and rare. We need to keep her safe."

"I know she's one of the last dhampyrs with that amount of vampire blood. The others have all gone on to their second lives. Echo is important to me, Talia. I... I think she's meant to be my Solus Amor." I admitted.

She gasped. "Oh, Victor. We'll save her. Bellamy can find out if she is. She doesn't like to do it often, but my pheata will do this to help us out. You need to know one way or the other. I'll call Marius, now. You prepare for his wrath. Get your groveling pants on. He told me the reason he wanted me to train her. You lost his daughter. He's going to want to rip your head off."

"I know. Thank you, Talia." I said.

"You're my dearest childe, Victor. Be safe until I arrive. Get all the information you can to placate my brood mate. I'll see you shortly." Talia told me as she hung up.

Talia didn't know that I already knew Echo was Marius' childe. At least she didn't before I confirmed it. Damn it. I was so distracted, I didn't think about concealing that fact from her.

I called Trent. He was yelling at someone when he picked up.

"I don't want to hear it from you! Find her!" He shouted. "Sorry, Victor. I'm working on it, but things aren't going great. Our guy at the DMV found the car plate, but it's registered to a blue sports car, not a dark red van. The plates were stolen a couple days ago, I guess."

"Brandon told me about what happened and that you were on it. I was hoping for some news. Anything on who could have taken her or why." I said.

"The rogues weren't ex-pack at all. Rogue born wolves have a different scent. They knew the property was guarded by pack wolves. That means they've been watching. Brandon said that the jogger always comes by at the same time, but today he was jogging early. He had never seen the van before." Trent informed me. "I need you to know, this isn't something that's easy to keep quiet in a small pack, or a family." "Grayson knows?" I asked.

"And so do Harmony and Valor. They want to try and use their connection to find her. I don't know how they would do that. I contacted the witch who helped us yesterday. A water witch showed up to help a couple hours ago, but they haven't been able to connect to her. She thinks Echo may be blocked from them for some reason." He told me.

That wasn't good. He'd really put everything he had into finding her in the last few hours. If we didn't find her soon, I would tear this entire territory apart.

"Victor?" Grayson said over the phone.

"Gray, I told you to get out of here." Trent scolded.

"No. I heard Victor on the phone. Did he find her? Does he know anything?" He asked.

"Nothing more than we do. Go help Harmony and Valor."

"Victor. Please, I need to be out there looking for her. Let me come help you. The witch cleaned her aura. Our bond is stronger. I need to help." Gray pled.

"Send him, Trent. You have her siblings to work that connection. I'll have their mate bond to help me. We need to find her before something bad happens to her. Echo has suffered enough in her life. We can't let her suffer anymore. I need to go. Marius and my sire will be here soon to help." I replied.

I hung up the phone and went out to get some blood. I needed to be at my full strength if I was going to find my Echo and bring her home safely. The blood tasted flat and dull. It echoed my own feelings.

Turning, I was met with the angry glare of Master Marius. I almost choked on my drink. Setting the glass down quickly, I bowed deeply and stayed there.

"Stand up, finish your drink, and find my childe." He growled.

I drank as quickly as I could, rinsed the glass, and followed him to my living room. Talia was looking around the room appreciatively. Everyone loved how Echo had decorated the house.

My pride in her fell flat in my chest. She wasn't here to see someone else enjoying her hard work. Echo loved seeing that.

"Tell us everything, Victor. We'll help find her." Talia said softly.

She was as small as I'd remembered, not even five feet tall, with copper colored hair, a catlike mouth, and the same violet eyes as me. I wanted to fall into her arms, as if she were my own mother. Talia was a caring and loving sire. Very different from others. I kept my composure and entered the room, bowing to her slightly. I wouldn't let everything going on make me behave disrespectfully to my sire my first time seeing her in three decades.

Quickly, I told them everything I knew. I started with the information from Brandon. Trent's report was next, then what I'd learned from Gray and that he was on his way.

Marius looked disappointed, but I was going to do everything in my power to find Echo and see her safely home. She was more important to me than his disappointment. Even if I couldn't keep her, I needed her safe.