The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 58

[Echo]

I held on to Marius a little longer. As much as he had annoyed me when we first met, I never thought I would actually feel as close to him as I did. It had to be because I was healthier. I knew my other parents would never have come for me, but Marius had. He stroked my hair gently. When I looked at him, there was something like love in his eyes. I promised myself I would never disappoint him. This was my father forever.

"You need to know about your abilities, Echo. We'll discover many of them as you grow, but there is one that I am afraid you need to get under control soon." Marius said. "What is it?" I asked.

"You have the ability to communicate with others mentally. We can hear when you are thinking about us or whispering to us, even at a great distance. Victor and Grayson could hear you talking to them while you were gone."

I blushed and buried my face in his chest. The last thing I said before I tried to kill myself was that I was sorry and I loved them. I said the same to Val and Harmony and asked Cam to take care of my sister.

On some level, I wanted them to hear me, but it was something I also thought was private. Why did no one ever talk back? Could I just not hear them? It didn't seem like a useful ability if I couldn't hear them too. "How much did you hear?" I whispered.

"We heard you say that you loved us, every day." Harmony told me. "We hoped you could hear us, but you never seemed to."

"Maybe I can help with that." The girl who'd opened the door offered. "I had to learn to use the mind link that pack wolves had. My brain doesn't function the same. We can add it to her training."

I pulled away from Marius and turned to her. This must be Bellamy. She was shorter than me and looked like a really nice person. There was something imposing about her, though. I definitely wanted her to like me.

She chuckled. "I see. That one didn't even sound a bell, it was just in my head. This is kinda cool. Let's move this into the living room. I'll have the boys get some snacks for us. I know Gray has barely eaten today. He needs more food."

Marius took my arm and guided me into the living room. When we got there, Harmony and Val came over and held out their hands to me. I let go of Marius and let them pull me to the couch.

I missed having my sister and brother with me. In the week that I had attended school, I'd gotten used to seeing them every day. No matter how hard Daniel pushed, I never told him where my sister and brother were.

We sat on the couch and they gripped my hands. I knew they were happy to see me. They were as happy as I was to see them. I didn't realize that happiness had a scent, but I could smell it.

"I want to introduce you to the men I brought to help train you." Bellamy said. "First of all, I'm Bellamy Deveraux. I am the Queen of the Eaten Heart Collective, and the Luna of the Lune Rouge Pack. Talia, Victor's sire, asked me to help when Marius came to her about training you to protect yourself."

I nodded. "I'm Echo Nightshade. Thank you for coming."

It actually hurt a little to call myself that. I didn't really know what my status with Victor was. He seemed to be willing to let me go and wait until my next life. I couldn't reconcile the feelings I was getting from him with his actions.

The feeling of loss in my heart was a mixture of his and my own. Gray was helping though. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to trust him, now. It felt like he was an entirely different person than before. Maybe it was the bond we shared now, maybe he actually grew as a person. Either way, I was grateful.

Two men came into the room with trays of food and drinks they set down. They were tall. One was broader, like Gray, and the other slimmer like Victor. The comparison filled me with sadness. The slim one had blond hair and green eyes, while the other had reddish brown hair and brown eyes, like Bellamy.

"This is my friend, Dillon, and his mate, my cousin, Jean-Claude. Claude is also the future head warrior of Lune Rouge. Dillon is the head of our elite team. I am assigning them here for a couple months to help get you trained. Talia will be sticking around, until she feels like leaving. I'm sure she wants to see that Victor is safely settled in. I'm here one more week. I'll give my assessment, set a training plan for you, and go deal with the local Alpha." She smiled.

I pulled my hands from my sister and brother and stood, extending my hand to the two men. Dillon grasped my hand gently and Jean-Claude did the same. I smiled at them. I didn't know two men could be mates, but they looked nice too.

"Eat something." Bellamy insisted. "That little bowl of chocolate pudding is for you. It has some blood mixed in it. Victor asked me to offer you blood foods to help get you back on regular food." "Gray was going to ask about the same thing." I smiled softly and picked up the bowl before sitting with my sister and brother again.

"Both of your mates want you to be healthy and feel normal. I'm sure drinking blood isn't exactly how you planned to live your life. It would be best if we could make it so you were drinking as little as possible and eating more. I'll start writing down my recipes for you. It will help you get back to normal." She said.

I ate the pudding while Bellamy went over information about my training. She wanted me to get up around five in the morning tomorrow and test to see where I was at. I told her I had never fought before, but she insisted on me at least trying.

When I finished my snack, my stomach felt truly full. I set the bowl down. Marius was standing in the corner of the room looking at his phone with a smirk. Gray and Cam were sitting quietly with a distant look in their eyes. Bellamy started talking to her friends about plans for training and going for a run later.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Echo." Harmony murmured, laying her head on my shoulder.

"We worried about you the whole time. It was like we could feel your pain and fear." Val said, putting his arm around the two of us.

"Can you still feel what I'm feeling?" I asked.

"A little. You were sad before you saw us. Then happy. It feels like the bond between the three of us is growing." Val told me.

Harmony nodded. I didn't feel it as much. I wondered why. Maybe because I was still recovering from trying to hurt myself.

To distract me from my thoughts, Harmony and Val started talking about the things they'd discovered about themselves since Sunday. Val had been working with water witches who were teaching him seeing magic. Harmony was doing a lot better in training now that she was connected to her wolf.

"Can I see your wolf? What does she look like?" I asked.

"I... I haven't had my first change yet. Mercy refused until you were safe. She said that family is important for your first and that she wanted to see you and Val when she came out." Harmony blushed.

"Let's do it now! I want to see her!" I grinned.

She looked nervous and glanced around. "I have to be naked or it will shred my clothes."

"Oh. Maybe you can wrap up in a towel or... I know! We still have some sheets from before I went shopping. Victor hates them and I can't use them on beds for vampires, so you can use one of those. Please, Harmony." I grasped her hand with both of mine. "There are a lot of people here...." She murmured.

"We were just talking about a run. I'm sure your mate will want to be with you on your first change. Since you weren't raised as a werewolf, you aren't as comfortable with nudity. We understand. This is the safest mix of wolves you could change with. You could have your family around you, and Mercy was right. That is very important to us on our first shift. This is a big moment in your life. We'll make sure you're safe." Bellamy said with a kind smile. "While the sun is still up, so we can see you properly." I insisted.

I needed something to distract me from Victor and the feeling of rejection. This was perfect. I really wanted to be there for the big things in my sister and brother's lives.

"Alright. Gray stays in the house until I'm changed." Harmony said.

"Cam was just telling me that. He understands your modesty. So do I." Gray replied.

"The other males will turn their back if any skin flashes. Even though they aren't into women, my boys are respectful." Bellamy said. Posted by FindNovel.net; visit us for more free novels.

"I've never seen someone change under a sheet. This is going to be pretty fun." Dillon grinned.

I stood up and pulled Harmony up to my room. I went to the linen closet and pulled out the sheet before returning to her. She was mostly undressed.

"Wrap this around you once you're undressed. I picked the color that would look best on you." I smiled.

"You're always thinking of how to make me pretty. I can't wait for the prom. We need to get you a dress. I'm going to help you with your hair and makeup this time." She said as she pulled off her under clothes and wrapped the sheet around her.

It dragged behind her as she walked down the stairs. I directed everyone out to the back. The front of the house couldn't be seen from the street, but I wasn't going to risk it.

Cam took Harmony in his arms and told her how beautiful she was in the sheet. She turned red again. It made me laugh.

Marius joined us as we went to see Harmony's first change into her wolf. He stood near me, but didn't try to touch me. I took his hand and Val's hand.

"You're touching me a lot more than you used to." Marius muttered.

There was something in his tone that made me feel like he was trying to be grumpy. Marius liked that I was touching him more. It made me smile.

"Of course I am. You're my papa now and I love you." I told him quietly.

Bellamy's head snapped in our direction. She was looking for his reaction. I looked from under my lashes at him to see what his reaction was. Of course, it was that smirk.

"Just... never call me 'daddy"." He whispered.

Bellamy and her friends started laughing. I didn't know why. It must have been something that happened before I met them.

"Ready, Harmony?" Cam asked, caressing her shoulder.

"I rather thought the first time I was naked with you there would be fewer people around." My sister joked.

Cam turned red as a heated look came across his face. It was like he had just realized she was naked under the sheet. He kissed her passionately. Seeing that, made me wish Gray and Victor were with me.

He stepped back. "The first shift is the hardest. Your body will want to fight your wolf. Just relax and let her come out. I'll be right by your family."

"Alright. Here I go." She said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Get down low so you don't fall." Cam advised.

Harmony crouched low and started shaking. I got nervous. Maybe this wasn't the right time.

There was a cracking sound and she whimpered. I felt pain in my body. Val gripped my hand tighter and I glanced over at him.

He was concentrating hard on our sister. Every time there was a crack, I felt a new pain. Val winced like he felt it, too. I hoped we were taking some of the pain from her, rather than just feeling what she did.

It took a few minutes, but, soon, there was a large wolf with fur the same color as Harmony's dark chestnut hair and the same hazel eyes standing where she'd been. I stared at my sister's wolf. She was as beautiful as Harmony.

I let go of Marius' hand and pulled Valor over to our sister. We stopped a foot away and I tugged him down so we could sit on our knees. Mercy came over and put her head down on my shoulder right next to Val's arm.

We hugged her back. Mercy was as much our sister as Harmony was. Her fur was soft and thick and she smelled like plants in the spring.

"You're so pretty, Mercy." I murmured.

"The most beautiful wolf ever." Val whispered.

Something came up next to me. I felt a rumble in Mercy's chest. I looked over and saw Marius looking down at her fondly.

"You are the most attractive wolf I have ever seen, Mercy. Your strength is amazing. You don't even smell as bad as most werewolves." He said.

Bellamy chuckled. "High praise from you, Marius. This confirms what my information said. She was meant to be the future Beta of the Forest Song Pack. She isn't just ranked blood. Mercy is a ranked wolf."

"I would have been great at the Beta's mate's job." Cam said softly.

"Cam. Why don't you change? This property is about fifteen acres, it's big enough for a run. You notified the guards like I told you to, right?" Bellamy asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll get Gray and we can change." He replied.