The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 71

[Gray]

When it looked like they were going to be later than planned, I went up to Victor's room and turned on his blanket. I made sure to text Echo, so she wouldn't worry. She messaged back with a thank you and a lot of little heart emojis.

I went to the kitchen for a snack. Fighting with Jean-Claude had been awesome. He taught me a lot and helped me work out a bit of residual frustration.

Forgiving Echo was easy. I just hated that it was my blood and her connection to me that caused her such a difficult time. I loved her so much and I never wanted her to hurt.

Deciding to become her servant was easy. I wanted to be with her forever. The idea of dying and knowing I would leave her behind one day twisted my stomach. It was an easy choice. Echo was my future, forever.

What was hard, was dealing with the jealousy and possessiveness that kept creeping up. It was partly me and mostly Rex. He really didn't like this arrangement, but I refused to give in to him and mark Echo. No one did that and kept going to human school. She wanted that experience. I wouldn't ruin it for her.

I was fixing a light sandwich when Talia came in the room. She hopped up on a counter and watched me. I hadn't spent a lot of time with her, but she seemed okay. She was really nice in all of the interactions I'd had with her.

"Grayson, may I ask you a few questions?"

"Please call me Gray." I sighed.

"Sorry. Gray, may I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure." I replied, focusing on my snack.

"Why are you following Victor's lead with Echo? Are you forgetting that she's your mate too? Is there something stopping you from acting on your own? Did he threaten you?" She asked.

"I don't understand what you mean about following Victor's lead. Of course I'm not forgetting that she's my mate. Nothing is stopping me from acting on my own. And he threatens me a lot, so you'll have to be more specific." I answered.

"The way you treat Echo. You should act as your heart desires, not do what Victor wants. He's one of her mates. You are not being permitted to be her mate. I see how you hold back with her. She's going to need you if we don't get this curse resolved." Talia said. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"There is a curse in this portion of the territory. It's why werewolves here have to stay in the region. It's why you don't find your mate until eighteen, when every other wolf can find theirs at seventeen. And it kills every Master who claims the territory. Victor is trying to break the curse, but, if he doesn't, it will kill him and Echo will need to know she can lean on you and you won't be lost because you don't have Victor to guide you." She explained.

A curse? I needed to see if I could help. Echo wouldn't do well if she lost Victor. Not if last night was any indication. She needed both of us.

"What do you recommend?" I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich and trying to play it cool.

"I hear Victor talking about what she's ready for and what she needs. Have either of you even considered asking Echo what she's ready for? I don't think he's ever considered asking Echo what she's ready for and what she needs. He's used to caring for others and, with vampires, that means doing what you think is best for them with very little input from the vampires." Talia told me.

I nodded. It did seem an awful lot like how he acted. I had written it off to the imperious nature of vampires, but maybe it was just Victor. He thought he knew what was best for her, but maybe he was as clueless as I was.

Rex stirred at that. He'd had ideas about what he wanted to do with our mate ever since she marked us. I'd shut him down a lot of the time, but I knew I kissed her more roughly than Victor said I should. He told me all kisses should be soft and gentle until she changed them, to give her control of the situation.

Sometimes I wanted control of the situation, though. I wanted to show Echo just how much I loved and desired her. I wanted to go further last night. Maybe holding back is part of why she's worried about losing us. She can tell we're holding back and it's hurting her. "I'll have to do something. I want Echo to be happy, but it's so hard to figure her out. She seems so innocent and sheltered for the most part, but then she pulls out something I wasn't expecting and seems so much more knowledgeable. It's hard to pin anything down." I sighed.

"Gray... did anyone ever tell you exactly what she has gone through over the last ten years?" Talia asked, looking concerned.

"Val told me what he saw a few months ago. Some vampire feeding on her and putting his hand up her skirt." I answered.

It still made me angry that the people who called themselves her parents had allowed that. It was worse that no one had been able to save her from it, even after Val found out. I wished that I could have been there to help.

"Oh, dear. Let me tell you what Victor and Marius told me. You deserve to know everything. Echo is partly yours and how you treat her is important. I think you'll understand your goddess' intentions a little better afterward." She said.

I followed her to the living room and sat on the couch next to her. Talia turned toward me and warned me to keep my wolf in check. That made me nervous. She then told me everything from the very first feeding to the things that had been running through Echo's head when Victor saved her.

My anger was overwhelming. The things they'd done to her, said to her. Everything she'd had to go through every single week for ten years. I didn't know how she hadn't just given up on everything. The threats, the promises, the things people would pay extra to do to her.

No wonder she seemed amazed by everything we did. Others touched her like that, but none of them were gentle, loving, or kind. Every time with them had been a violation. I hated them for hurting her and using her like that. I was even more glad Victor had killed them all.

"Thank you for telling me. I can see how my earlier actions might have seemed like theirs. I wanted to own Echo. It wasn't something where I stopped to think about what she wanted, only what I did. I won't do that again." I vowed.

"Good. But you see now how Victor has coddled her? Echo can't grow if he's guarding her experiences. You're her mate as much as he is. You need to get him to loosen his grip on her." Talia said. "What exactly are you talking about?" I asked.

She couldn't just be talking about in the bedroom, like I'd kind of thought she was. I'd had bedroom heart to hearts with Dillon and Amy. I didn't realize she was talking about something else entirely. "Aside from her training, Echo needs to experience life outside of vampirism. He may see her as not being ready to experience other things. She needs to have knowledge of all sorts of people and things. He was worried about her going to the mall because of how many people there would be. He was afraid she would get overwhelmed. There will be times that she will have to be comfortable in large crowds. Ones that will be paying more attention to her than people in a shopping center. I'm working on arranging his introduction ball. Echo will attend as his Solus Amor. She will be scrutinized as someone who is a link to getting a stronger connection or hold over the Master. Vampires will use anything they can to get power and recognition. Like Victor will not be allowed in the dance you're taking her to, you will not be allowed in the ball. She needs to be able to handle some situations that would make her uncomfortable." Talia explained.

"I can take her out with some of my werewolf friends. Other than Cam and Harmony. I have some with mates who are... not as friendly to other females as they should be. That way, I can step in if they get out of hand." I offered.

"Good. I hate telling you to put her in these situations, but Victor seems to think that he can watch over her all the time. He can't and vampires are catty bitches so much of the time." She sighed.

"I'll take care of it. Victor has enough to worry about."

The door in the entry opened and I heard Echo chatting happily to Amy and Dillon. I smiled at how cheerful she sounded. I glanced over, then back at Talia.

"Go on. I'm sure you missed her as much as she missed you." She chuckled.

"Not possible." I grinned, standing and making my way to my mate.

I stopped in the arch into the entryway. Echo's hair was shorter. It really suited her, but I thought she was beautiful no matter what she did with it.

Echo saw me, dropped her bags and ran over, jumping up and wrapping her arms and legs around me. It reminded me of the way she'd jumped on me in the library.

She started kissing me firmly and passionately. When I responded roughly, she moaned and dug her fingernails into my back. It made Rex excited and I growled, making her giggle.

I licked my lips after she pulled away and put her head on my shoulder. I held her to me tightly. I felt so at peace when I had her in my arms. It was a little hard to let her go. "We'll go start your clothes in the wash. Make sure you put the dry cleaner ticket somewhere safe. You'll need it to get your dresses." Amy told Echo as she went past us. "Thank you, Amy!" Echo said as she cuddled more firmly against me.

"Are you okay, angel?" I asked.

"That was the best day. My sister came with us. I bought so many things." She smiled and kissed my neck.

"I'm glad you had fun. Victor will be up soon. You should go see him. You can tell us all about it at dinner." I said and kissed her cheek.

"Just a little bit longer. I missed seeing you." Echo replied softly.

I stood there, holding her. It was really nice to have my mate love me. She made me feel better. It made what I had to do harder. I wanted to make her feel better too, but taking her out with girls who would be mean and judgmental wouldn't do that. I nearly lost my resolve, until Echo started nibbling on my neck.

How many other things did Victor keep her from expressing by holding her back? Did he really not notice how much she held herself back? I couldn't imagine her doing this to Victor.

"Are you hungry, angel?" I asked.

"Mmm. Yes, but not for blood." She purred. "I want to touch you again, Gray."

I groaned at the heated tone in her voice. Goddess knows, I wanted her to touch me again too. She was a little like a werewolf with their mate. I loved it.

Putting her down, I saw the disappointment on her face. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. This way, maybe, I could open Victor's eyes to what Echo was ready for.

"Tonight, you pick what we're doing. You get to be in charge and make the decisions. We'll trust that you know what you want and that you aren't asking for anything you're uncomfortable with. I want you to focus on that this evening. Now, you go wake up Victor and I'll go see if they need help in the kitchen." I told her.

Echo looked confused for a moment, then seemed to grasp what I was saying. Her cheeks turned red and she covered her mouth. After a moment of watching her eyes go back and forth while she thought it over, she lowered her hands and looked up at me. "Anything at all that I want?" She asked.

"Within reason. I'm not kissing him." I laughed.

"Then what's the point?" Echo giggled.

"Get out of here, dirty girl." I grinned and pushed her toward the stairs.

Once she was up the stairs, I started texting my friends about eating with us at lunch. I made plans with them for an evening date next Saturday. I knew Echo had plans with Sean earlier in the day.

I told my friends Echo had never been bowling and I wanted to take her out. They loved the fries at the bowling alley and agreed to go and bring their mates. It would be perfect for what Talia said she needed. She would have more attention as my mate, the girls would be fake friendly, and she would have to maintain a certain demeanor.

The most important part, is that I would be there to cut them off if it got too harsh, and I would know what was going on instead of being clueless. Catty wolves had to be easier to deal with than catty vampires. They didn't have as much practice.