The Vampire’s Servant novel Chapter 128

Waking up the next morning was difficult. I had the most wonderful dreams about being with Victor and Gray again. I didn’t want to wake up and go back to the reality of my cold bed.

Last night they asked if they could sleep with me. I told them no because I had said that I wouldn’t make love to either of them until the curse was ended. I had to stick to my guns, no matter how much I wanted to give in. And I really wanted to give in.

I quickly got dressed for training. With luck, that would quell my body’s desire to get physical. I wanted them both so much, I thought I would explode. I didn’t know I could feel like this.

In the yard, Jean-Claude was talking to everyone about what trainings would be like. Sean looked pretty tired. He probably wasn’t used to getting up this early. He waved at me and I went to stand with him.

“You look exhausted. Are you going to be okay?” I asked quietly.

“I want to be stronger. I want to kick Rosario’s dad’s ass. If training like a werewolf will get me there, I’m gonna do it.” He replied.

“It’s partly my fault. I kept him up last night.” Rosario winked.

“Will you stop telling people that?” Sean growled.

“It’s true.” Rosario grinned.

“That doesn’t mean you have to tell everyone you see!” Sean hissed.

“I remember training after being kept up by my mates. It’ll be tough, but you’ll do fine.” I replied wistfully.

“Don’t encourage him by acting like this is normal. I need at least eight hours of sleep before physical activity. I only barely passed gym class.” He groaned.

“Sean, Rosario, Echo! Pay attention!” Jean-Claude shouted.

We jumped a little and looked at him. I felt badly about letting myself get distracted. He appeared mildly annoyed.

“I don’t like repeating myself, but I will this once. Pay attention in training, it could save you from punishments.” He warned.

“Sorry.” We said.

“As I was saying, we start training with a run to wake us up. Vampires, three laps around the property, that includes you, Echo. Werewolves and fae, two laps. Humans, one lap. Try to run at your top human speed everyone. Sean and Preston, you can take time to walk if you need to. Try to run as much as possible. Val, I want you to go two laps with the rest of the wolves. Meet back here when you’re done everyone. Let’s go!” Jean-Claude called out.

I rushed to run by Talia. She was the one who set our pace. She never ran at her top speed, just so I could keep up. That didn’t mean she didn’t push me. I think she ran a little faster each day to build me up.

We ran around the path. It was really pretty in the dim early morning light. I always enjoyed our run.

Soon, we were passing Sean, who looked like he was about to die. He was trying as hard as he could. Uncle Preston was farther ahead. A while after that, we were passing Rosario. He was pretty far behind the werewolves, but not struggling as much as Sean was.

When we passed my sister and brother, I waved to them. They smiled and waved back. Gray stumbled a bit as he watched me run. It made me feel really good to see that I had that effect on him.

Talia poked me. “You’re going all red, is that from the running or from seeing your mate nearly face-plant from watching you run?”

“A… little… of… both.” I puffed.

“It’s much easier when you don’t need to breathe. You’ll get there. You’re already running as fast as a young vampire. We’ll slow down for the last lap.” She said.

I nodded, not wanting to exhaust myself with talking. I learned pretty quickly that I couldn’t run and talk at the same time. Everything started burning a little in the third lap. I was used to it and thankful that we slowed down a bit.

When we went past Sean again, he was dark red and listing quite a lot. I didn’t think he’d make it all the way around. I slowed to match his pace.

“Are you alright, Sean? You don’t look so good.” I asked.

“I don’t feel so good.” He panted.

I stopped in front of him. Talia came back from where she’d been running ahead. I never stopped on our runs, and it made her curious.

“Get on my back, Sean. If you get sick, you won’t be able to finish training for the day.” I told him.

“Echo, I should do this on my own.” He puffed, putting his hands on his knees and looking like he was going to be sick.

“This is a few miles, Sean. You’re not even halfway there. Come on. I can get you back to where we work out and you can rest before the wolves finish their run.” I pushed.

“I really am useless.” He sighed.

“No, you’re just not ready for this level. I’ll talk to Jean-Claude. We need to think of you and your health. You won’t learn anything if you burn out. Get on my back, Sean.” I ordered.

Sean grumbled, but did as I said. I figured out my balance and started running. Talia laughed as she followed.

I picked up the pace as I went. Nothing was burning as much anymore. The little break had been enough for my vampire abilities to refresh my body. I ran as if I wasn’t carrying a whole other person.

We passed Uncle Preston who shouted ‘no fair’ at us. I laughed. Sean squeezed me a little harder. Rosario did the same as Uncle Preston. They were far enough along that I didn’t worry.

Normally, on a run, I slow down to join the wolves in the final stretch of their laps. This time, I went right past them.

“That’s cheating! They’re cheating!” Cam shouted.

“If you can yell, you can run faster, Cameron.” Jean-Claude called back to him. “Echo, what are you doing?”

“Sean can’t run the distance you set for him. He was looking really bad, so I’m giving him a ride back to the yard.” I explained.

“Fair enough, how far did he make it?” He asked.

“About a third of the way. Maybe he should just do laps around the house while we run. We can talk about it later.” I said as I started running faster.

Once we reached the training area in the yard, I let Sean down. He plopped onto the grass and laid back. I sat down next to him.

“That was fun.” Sean laughed. “I’m sorry I was a burden on you.”

“I’ve never carried anyone while I ran. That was definitely different.” I chuckled.

“You actually ran faster than we were running before, Echo.” Talia said. “I think you’ve been holding back. You ran almost as fast as an adult aged vampire. As fast as Victor.”

I looked at her, my mouth open in shock. I didn’t think I was running faster, it seemed like a natural pace to me. I was pleasantly surprised.

“I just knew I needed to get Sean back here. I wasn’t paying attention.” I admitted.

“You were paying attention before?”

“Yes, I was trying to keep up with you and your pace.” I replied.

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