The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 91

[Gray]

When we returned home, Echo took her bag and ran off to find Victor. I wanted to find Talia and talk to her about Echo's reaction to the girls. In the end, they had caught on to her enthusiasm. She had the ability to make people as excited as she was. Talia was in the library, laying on the couch, reading a book. I sat in the chair next to the couch. She looked up at me and closed her book before pulling herself into a sitting position. "How did it go?" She asked.

"They were more than just catty. They attacked her verbally. They attacked our relationship. They even brought up my ex." I sighed. "How did she take it?"

"She seemed worried in the beginning, then she just stopped. Echo realized my mind wasn't going to be changed. She realized I wouldn't give up on her because of them. She told them off and we actually ended up having a pretty good time." I admitted. Talia nodded. "Good. She can judge situations and handle them effectively. No crying or screaming, right?"

"Right. She spoke like Victor does when he's all vampire-y. Echo was cool, calm, and dismissive. I hope it means tomorrow will go well. My grandpa doesn't like vampires." I explained.

"That could be difficult. I believe Echo will handle it well. It's good that we have this sorted. I finished with the preparations for the announcement of Victor's inheritance of this territory. It will be in two weeks at a vampire owned establishment." She said. "Which one?"

"Sangre. It's an upscale restaurant. They've announced it will be closed for a private event. They will serve blood foods and drinks with blood. I love a good party." Talia smiled.

"What precautions are being put in place to protect Echo? After how Finn behaved the first time he met her, I don't trust other vampires around her." I told her.

"All in attendance have been informed that the Master's Solus Amor is a dhampyr and they are not to touch her or bite her without her permission. This caused some questions. No one has ever seen a dhampyr with a vampire Solus Amor before they shifted into their second life. Some have even rejected their Solus Amor because of how that vampire treated them before they died. There is one ex-dhampyr who will be in attendance. He is interested to see a female who wasn't raised the way they normally are. I think a lot of our guests are more eager to meet her than they are to meet Victor." She chuckled.

"They've been told that her sire is Marius, right? I don't want them thinking she'll be unprotected if something happens to Victor."

"Ah, well, Marius felt it would be better if that were announced while he was there. He wants to see them realize that she is more than protected. He likes the scent of fear. It has been worked into Victor's speech that he will thank Marius for supporting him and will announce that Echo is Marius' child in the same breath." Talia explained.

"Good. I want them to know she's off limits." I said.

"I have this covered. Go on. It's nearly Echo's bedtime, isn't it? She'll miss you if you're late." She winked.

I got up and headed for the door. "Why don't vampires know a dhampyr is their mate? It doesn't make sense that they wouldn't know. Or that the dhampyr wouldn't know."

"It's a biting urge. All vampires are drawn to dhampyrs, dhampyrs only bite their mates. It would be a strange sensation that starts with their gums itching as their fangs come out. I think a lot of the vampires who were Solus Amors with dhampyrs just ignored it. They wouldn't have wanted to work through the process of freeing their mates from servitude. It's a sad statement about my people, but they probably it was best to wait until they were freed by death. I couldn't imagine letting my Solus Amor live through the kind of treatment dhampyrs received in the past." Talia responded softly.

"They didn't deserve them if they wouldn't fight for them. I know Victor would have fought for Echo if Daniel hadn't lost her. He wouldn't have stopped until she was his."

"That is true. My Victor is as stubborn as you are. If he had found her being treated like a dhampyr by Daniel, he would have taken it to the highest court to free his Solus Amor."

"Do you think she'll ever love me as much as she loves him?" I asked.

Talia laughed. "If you don't believe she loves you as much as him, then you need to get your head checked. Echo looks at both of you the same way. She talks about you the same way. She runs to see you when you've been away for any length of time. She cares for you both the same way."

"You really think so?" I asked.

"Everyone in this house knows. Even Victor knows you are equals in Echo's heart. Even if she started loving him first and used to love him more, she loves you both the same now." Talia assured me.

"Thanks, Talia. I better go. I really appreciate your help."

"That's what I'm here for." She waved, opening her book again and sinking down onto the couch.

I left the library feeling a lot better. My insecurities had overwhelmed me. I needed to get over that. I promised myself I would do better for her.

When I walked into Victor's office, he was working at his desk, writing something using the silly pen Echo had bought him. Echo was sitting on the couch, cuddling her stuffed cat. I sat on the couch and pulled out my phone. The feeling in the room was really comfortable. There was no tension of any kind. It was soothing. Like being truly at home.

"How's the curse hunt going?" I asked.

"Finn is still tracking down whoever it is who can tell me almost everything about it. I'm trying to piece together what led up to it. Your great great-grandfather's journals may hold the pieces to fill it out." He said.

"I can talk to my great-grandfather tomorrow at the family dinner. It's a big barbeque, now that it's warmer out. We'll head out around four and be there until after eight." I told him.

"I see. Thank you for letting me know." Victor replied with a slight smile.

"I... I think you should spend the night with Echo, in your bed." I told him.

Echo looked at me curiously. Victor looked up from what he was working on. I felt my face redden.

"Look, she's going to be with me all day and tomorrow night... well. You know. Anyway, I think you're not getting as much time with her as I am. If you don't have much going on tonight, then you don't really have to be in here. You can lay down with Echo and just be with her all night." I offered. "Where will you sleep, Gray?" Echo asked.

"I can sleep in my room. It's not like I don't have anywhere to go, angel." I chuckled.

"Are you sure, Grayson? There's no reason you can't sleep with us."

"I'll have her all night tomorrow night. She loves us both the same. There's no reason to fight over time with her." I said.

Echo moved closer and wrapped her arms around me. I leaned my cheek down on top of her head. We'd moved past my need for validation in Echo's heart. It was finally time for me to back down and let my relationship grow the way it was going to. "That's kind of you, Grayson. Echo, let me know when you're ready for bed." He smiled.

"I have to get some laundry done. Probably another hour or so." She said before getting up and bouncing out of the room with her stuffed cat.

"She really loves that cat." Victor chuckled.

"We'll have to buy her a lot of stuffed animals. I love how she smiled while she was talking about it. I can't believe her parents took her toys away." I growled.

"She was only a little girl. I have no idea how anyone could do that to a child they'd cared for since she was a baby." He replied with a small snarl.

"Echo says she wants to have a baby with you first. I know you're going to be a good dad. I'll help out during the days." I told him.

"She hadn't told me that. Why did she tell you?" Victor asked.

"I asked her when she wanted to have babies. You know how werewolves are about family. We start as soon as we mark our mates. Bellamy is only a couple years older than us and already has twins." I answered.

"You were eager to find out about when you could have a pup and found out you had to wait in line. That probably didn't make you feel great."

"Echo told me you lost your family. Family is important to werewolves. You're my family as much as Echo is. Your babies will be my family. I want you to have back what you lost." I said.

"Thank you. I didn't know how I would feel about watching you and Echo have babies, knowing that she wants to have my child first makes me happy. I saw the ring you gave her. When are you planning to get married?"

"Two months. We'll do it on the pack lands at night, so you and the other vampires can be there. I have four Lunas who will get everything arranged. Echo never has to know how much work it really is."

"She deserves to have that. I wish I could marry her." He sighed.

"You can always do a binding ceremony." I offered.

A binding ceremony was a wedding for vampires. I read about it in one of Victor's books. He had a book on all of the different ceremonies vampires did all over the world. This seemed to be the closest to a marriage ceremony I could find. It was usually put on when vampires entered into a marriage agreement.

"Yes. That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'll start planning for one here. We can do it in the backyard near the garden. We don't need many people. Just us, her family, Rosy, Talia, maybe Bellamy and Lucien. Definitely Jean-Claude and Dillon. I will need Talon and Silence here. As my supports, they are at the top of the guest list for any events." Victor said and started typing on his computer. "Will you be taking her on a honeymoon?"

"Not if the curse isn't broken. I don't want to take her from you when you're still fighting this thing. I can wait. I want to take her to the ocean." I told him.

"She'll love that. I want to take her to Paris. She watched a movie with me that was set in France. I think she'll enjoy it. I have connections in Europe that can get us into museums after dark." He smiled.

Of course, he was able to do more than I could. I'd have to put in a lot of hours to afford the trip to the coast, but he could take her on a full tour of Europe without even blinking. I needed to get a better job.

-

[Victor]

-

After writing a quick plan for a binding ceremony, I returned to my work. There were little bits of information coming in every night on the curse or the people involved. Lila was one of the biggest sources of information for us.

Maeve, the leader of the fae, had reached out to me and given me her email address. She assigned one of the children in Echo's school to be her liaison. Maeve seemed very interested in the triplets. She said Echo was the primary reason that she'd even offered talk of an alliance.

Echo's ability to get people to like her was amazing. She didn't have the same mind control as Harmony. Master Marius said he didn't feel the same way when talking to Echo as he did when talking to Harmony. Whatever it was that Echo did, it was her personality, not some supernatural ability.

Slowly, Maeve was documenting as much as she could say by having the child who was Echo's liaison type what she said. He was her son. She decided to have another child, late in life, because she missed having someone close to her.

Thinking of that drew me to the conversation I'd just had with Grayson about Echo wanting to have my child first. I couldn't possibly express to either of them just how happy the idea of Echo having my child made me. As soon as the curse was ended, I intended to find out more about her plans for our family.

The idea of 'our family' made my chest swell. I wanted to make sure that Echo was comfortable in her role in the house. She wasn't just a servant anymore, she was my bride, my Solus Amor, my everything.

Soon, she was standing in the doorway, her hair framed her face and she chewed on her bottom lip. She glanced over at Grayson and looked a little sad. I stood and crossed the room, taking her into my arms. "What's wrong, princess?" I asked.

"Nothing." She lied.

"Are you upset that Grayson isn't coming to bed with us tonight?" I pressed.

"He doesn't have to if he doesn't want to, I don't mean to pressure either of you." Echo whispered.

"That's not the reason, angel." Grayson said. "It's really not that I don't want to. I want to spend every night with you, I just want to be fair with Victor. You've had a lot of time with me today and you'll have even more tomorrow. You and Victor have had no time together, alone, in the last week. You went from being entirely his to being shared."

"You really aren't mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" He asked.

"Because I was mean to your friends." She said softly.

"They deserved it. I'm not mad. I just think this is the best idea for you two. It's my job to watch out for your relationship, too. If you're ready for bed, you should go. I'm heading up soon. No training tomorrow, so I get to sleep in." Grayson chuckled.

Echo slipped out of my arms and sat in his lap giving him kisses and a big hug. He gently pushed her out of his lap and stood. Grayson took her hand and led her back to me. I took her from him and led her upstairs.

She went to her room to change, while I changed into my pajamas. Echo came in with her computer. I was a little confused.

"I thought you might want to watch a movie with me in bed. I don't need to be up early, and I want to spend more time with you." She said.

"That sounds like fun, princess." I smiled.

Echo climbed into the bed and arranged the pillows so she could sit against them. I crawled in with her. She opened the laptop and went to a movie rental service. She picked out a movie and we watched it, curled up together.

I never enjoyed a movie more, it was one of the plays of Shakespeare. Much Ado About Nothing. She cried a little at the accusation of Hero and loved the ending where everyone danced happily together, Hero reborn and married to Claudio, Beatrice and Benedick no longer sniping at each other, and all pain turned to love.

We closed the computer and I put it on the nightstand. Echo curled into the curve of my side and laid her head on my chest. She looked as sweet and innocent as the girl playing Hero had. I would never make the mistake of Claudio and would talk to my little princess if I encountered something like an accusation of infidelity.

"I love you, Victor. Thank you for saving me, both times. You're the best man I've ever met. And the best vampire I've ever met." She murmured sleepily.

"I love you, too, princess. You are my heart. I couldn't live without you. I'm so glad I found you. I know I can face any future as long as it has you in it." I replied. "Now, get some sleep. You have another long day tomorrow."

She nodded and soon her breathing evened into that of sleep. She'd been so precious when she told me about everything she'd gotten to do today. I couldn't wait for her to come home to me tomorrow with more stories.