The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 87

Wednesday, the fae kids mostly left me alone. Some of the bigger ones glared at me. Gray told me they were trolls. Like real trolls and they tended to be jerks as part of their nature. They probably didn't like that we went over their heads to Maeve.

The fae girl from the bus approached me at lunch and apologized. She said she hadn't written any of the notes, but the others found out about me from her and she felt badly. I explained to her what a dhampyr was and that I was no threat to them. Like them I was

born the way I was born. She seemed really nice and accepted my invitation to sit with us.

On Thursday, I turned in a bunch of my late work and met with Mr. Moxon. I had been having small flashbacks on Wednesday, but I was using his techniques to help get me grounded so I wouldn't panic again. It was helping me to get back to normal after them. I was riding the bus home with Sean Friday afternoon. He was talking to me about our plans for Saturday. He seemed really excited. I was excited, too. I had played golf on my game systems before, but Sean said this was different.

"So, we'll meet up at the place for lunch. Then we can start playing. There's an arcade inside where they have the restaurant. Maybe we can play some video games after." He suggested.

"That sounds like fun!" I grinned.

"How are things going with you and Gray?" Sean asked.

"Good, I guess. We work on our homework together and get to see each other at school. He wants to take me out bowling after you and I finish playing. I've never been bowling before." I said.

"I wish I could go, too."

"He invited a few of his friends and their girlfriends. It's like a couples thing. Maybe we can get a group together some other time." I offered.

"That sounds good. Maybe you, me, Gray, Terry, Elle, Harmony, Val, and Cam."

"I love that idea! I'll tell Gray when I talk to him tonight. We could all have so much fun together." I smiled.

There were so few times where I got to just have fun anymore. It felt like my whole life was taken up by lessons. I started getting up with Gray to train. It was actually a great way to get moving in the morning. I'd go to school, do homework after, then dinner, and lessons with Marius that went until my bedtime.

I was learning more about boundaries with Gray and Victor too. Victor told me he had only meant to guide me and didn't realize it was coming off as him acting like a parent. I apologized again for acting up.

We all acknowledged that I was still trying to figure a lot out. I worked to reign in my bratty behavior. It was hard, but they were patient with me. Sometimes I would play with my imagination while they were getting ready for bed. It led to some really intense encounters after.

Gray was talking a lot more in the bedroom. He said really dirty things. Just thinking about it would make me press my thighs together to quell the desire that overcame me. I couldn't wait to finally have him the way I'd been imagining.

I said goodbye to Sean when he got up at his stop. He smiled and said that he couldn't wait for tomorrow. I couldn't either. A whole day where I just got to play sounded nice.

Gray met me at the bus stop and walked me back to where his truck was parked.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" He asked.

"So excited! There's an arcade there, Sean says we can play video games. And I can't wait to spend some more time with your friends. They seem really nice at lunch." I replied.

"That's only two of them. My other friend, Mike, goes to the pack school with his mate. They got a little carried away a few months ago and marked each other, so they had to transfer." Gray told me.

"When will you mark me?" I asked.

"The day after graduation. The night of graduation. As soon as I don't have to worry about you getting questioned about your mark."

"Will it hurt?"

"I'll do everything I can to make sure it doesn't. I'll do it while we're making love. Right as you orgasm. I've talked to a few people, they said it makes it hurt much less. I don't want to hurt you at all, but I want you marked as mine." He said. "I want that, too." I answered quietly.

He parked in his usual spot, unbuckled my seatbelt, and pulled me into his lap. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him softly on his cheeks, chin, and lips. His hand went up my skirt and rested on my hip. I sighed contentedly at the feeling of his warm hand on my bare skin.

"I love you, Echo Nightshade. I can't wait until you're finally mine forever." Gray murmured.

"I love you, too, Grayson Padua. I promise to love you forever." I whispered.

"Good. I'll only accept forever love. When did you want to start having kids, by the way? Most wolves start right away. I'll wait as long as you want."

I thought about it. I wanted my first baby to be with Victor. He lost so much and I wanted to give him the family he missed out on having. I didn't know when I would be ready for that. Certainly not within the next year. I had a lot of learning to do before I tried to start a family.

"A couple years, at least. Would you be mad at me if I said I wanted my first baby to be with Victor?" I asked.

"That depends. Why do you want your first baby with Victor? Is it because you still love him more than me?"

"No. Victor had a family before he was turned. He lost them all before he died. I want him to have a baby to love. I know he would love your babies too, but having a baby with him is something I really want." I admitted.

"I wouldn't get mad. I can't imagine what it must have been like losing everyone he loved. We'll raise our family all together. Our kids will be sisters and brothers. How many babies do you want?" He asked.

I giggled. "Is it really time to be talking about this? Shouldn't we wait for Victor before we talk about how we grow our family?"

"I want to marry you. I want to sleep next to you every night knowing I'm your husband in the eyes of human law. I want to take care of you while you grow our babies and see you experience everything for the first time. I want to take you to see the ocean, take you camping, take you to a big city where we can go to a fancy restaurant and see a play or something. One of those grown up style dates like they have in movies. I can't wait for school to be over because then I get to really start my life with you." Gray said with a big smile.

His unexpected speech made me so happy. Tears started forming in my eyes. I wanted all of that. I hugged him tight and nodded.

"That sounds wonderful. When did you want to get married?" I asked.

"Ideally, tonight. Realistically, maybe June. We can get married in the gardens in the pack lands. We'll do it at night, so Victor and Marius can be there. My mom and grandmas can make your dress. They love things like that and it will be something we can pass down to our daughters when they get married." He told me.

I didn't exactly know what went into a wedding, but having over a month to plan it should be enough time. Gray reached over and opened the glovebox. He pulled out a little, fuzzy box.

"I got this on my way home from seeing my great-grandparents. It's not much, because I couldn't afford much. I couldn't get you a diamond. I wanted to. Instead, I got your birthstone. March is aquamarine." He said, opening the box. "It has a white gold band. I thought it would be better than yellow gold, and I couldn't pick silver, because it could burn me."

In the box was a ring with a small, pale blue gem seated in it. Gray pulled it out and slipped it on one of my fingers on my left hand. It was so pretty and sparkly. I couldn't stop staring at it.

"This is how humans mark their mates. I'm marking you as mine, Echo. I want you to wear this as often as possible. Sleep with it on, go to school with it on, only take it off to bathe and train. Do you understand?" Gray asked.

I nodded. "I understand. Does that make you feel better about me going out with Sean? I've heard you and Victor talking about it as it gets closer. Are you both really worried that he wants to date me? He knows you and I are together."

"There are some guys out there who will pretend to be your friend just so they can try to get you to break up with your boyfriend. I don't want Sean to be one of those guys, but something about him doesn't sit right with me. I don't know what it is." He sighed. "Well, if he tells me that he likes me, I'll just tell him I'm already in love with someone else and I intend to marry you." I told him.

Gray kissed my cheek. "And what if he says he likes Harmony?"

"Then I'll tell him that Harmony is deeply in love with Cam and I can't help him." I responded.

"What if he tells you he's in love with Val?" He chuckled.

"Then I will tell him Val has only ever dated girls, but I'll talk to him about it." I said, thoughtfully.

"Really?"

"Yes. Dillon told me that he only likes men, but there are people who like both men and women. I wouldn't know until I asked. Do you only like women, Gray?" I asked.

"Yes. That's why your little fantasy about me and Victor kissing upsets me. I like Victor, but I'm not interested in kissing him." Gray replied seriously.

"I don't know. You might rethink that. We have a very very long life ahead of us." I giggled.

"Maybe he just needs a girlfriend." Gray said, changing the subject.

"Hmm. What about Rosario? The fae girl who's been sitting with us the last few days." I suggested. "He likes fairies and elves and stuff."

Gray laughed. "There's a difference between playing them in a game and dating them in real life. You've only seen Rose in her glamour. In real life, she might be really hideous by human standards."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Remember when we first saw Maeve? She had black hair and light brown skin. Once we were in her house, she dropped her glamour and her hair turned green while her skin turned a less natural shade of brown. She was only using a light glamour. I'll show you. Victor got some books delivered. I bet he'll have something on other supernaturals. Come on." He said.

Gray moved me out of his lap and got out of the truck before helping me down and grabbing our bags. I took our bags into the office while Gray went to find a book. I only had a few things left to do over the weekend to get completely caught up. I was looking forward to having more time in the afternoons.

As I finished setting out my book and computer, Gray returned. He carried a thick, old book. Carefully, he set it down the title was 'Fae of the World'.

He opened it up to the first page. "This is the table of contents with each type of fae's name and page number. Those boys who were harassing you, were trolls. Here's their page."

Gray opened the book to the page for trolls. There was a drawn figure on the page. It had large tusks, a thick protruding nose, and clawed hands. Next to it, was a picture of a man. The troll seemed to tower over him.

"Trolls will grow to over seven feet tall. The ones in our school are actually very young. Most trolls don't reach adulthood until they're fifty years old. Those boys would outlive me if you didn't help me live longer. Their natural life span is three hundred years." Gray explained.

"Oh. I didn't realize that."

"Plus, fae have a true mate that they usually find in adulthood. If Sean did date Rose, that would mean she would leave him when she found her true mate. He'll find his stride in college. I just want to be sure he isn't after you." He said. "I'll make sure he knows we're only friends and I won't accept anything else. Does that make you happy, Gray?"

"Yes. Thank you for giving in on this. I'm sorry I'm acting so insecure all the time. I was never like this before you. I always want to be the one you love. I always want to be enough for you." Gray whispered, leaning against me. "You are enough. You are the only werewolf I love." I promised.

"I guess that's the best I'll get for a while. Let's get our homework done. We don't have long before Victor is up." He told me, setting aside the fae book.

I decided to return the book when I went to warm up Victor's bed. I didn't want him to be upset that we borrowed the book without permission. Having most of a week without a problem would be the best thing I could imagine.