The Vampire’s Servant novel Chapter 148

[Echo]

Everyone in the office was looking at me. Of course, I had been so excited I forgot myself a little. We’d finished the magic books on Tuesday.

A few had ripped out pages. Some were torn and others were more precisely cut. Lila said that she did the more precise ones, Fenton must have torn out the others. She couldn’t remember what was in them, so she was working on spells to bring back lost things in hopes of finding what he took.

Preston was looking at me, hopefully. Harmony and Val stared in shock at my outburst. Fenton was always staring at something, this time it just happened to be me.

I ran out the door and called to Lisa, Wendell, and Gray. They all appeared rather quickly. Werewolf speed was wonderful.

“There are two witches coming from Bellamy’s collective. They can help us break the wards. Gray, I need you to gather everything you might need for the next few days and take it to Victor’s room. I’ll do the same. Since Finn and Talia sleep during the day, we can use it at night. Wendell, Lisa, I want my room and Gray’s room cleaned and prepared for guests. Do any of you know where Sean and Rosario went? We need to talk to Sean’s dad.” I said.

“They packed up a little food and were doing a picnic for lunch. That was a couple hours ago, but they haven’t brought back any of the containers they took. I would have to assume they’re on the property, probably enjoying the nice warm weather we’re having.” Wendell smiled. “Maybe they are taking a nap in the sun.”

“They’re not werewolves, Wen.” Lisa scoffed.

“That doesn’t mean they don’t like naps in the sun. It’s so cozy and comfy. I’d love to have a picnic, then curl up with my mate to nap in the sun…. If I ever find him.” Wendell sighed.

“We’ll get this curse taken care of, then you can go to the next national mate gathering. I’m sure you’ll find him.” Gray told her gently.

She beamed at him. I was so proud of how he handled that. Sometimes he fumbled a bit, but he was always kind-hearted and sweet.

The girls went to start pulling their supplies out to clean as Gray and I headed upstairs to gather our things and move them to Victor’s room. I was always wearing Gray’s ring and Victor’s necklace now, so I didn’t have anything valuable in my room.

I grabbed the charger for my phone, a pair of pajamas, underclothes and outfits for the next few days, and my backpack before heading to Victor’s room. Gray came in while I was setting my things up on the dresser in Victor’s closet. I helped him find space for his own things.

Ever since Monday, Gray had been a little more subdued than he normally was. When I asked him if anything was wrong, he told me he was fine. He was less urgent in his attempts to get Fenton to talk. Maybe he was just resigning himself to the fact that he couldn’t save Fenton from the repercussions of his decisions.

“Gray. Thank you for moving in here with me. I really appreciate it. We’ll have this all sorted soon and things can go back to normal. I promise.” I said.

“Yeah, okay.” He mumbled and turned to leave the closet.

I grasped his hand and he turned back to me. I knew he was sleeping, so I didn’t know why he looked so tired. I stepped closer and reached for his face, but Gray moved away from me.

“Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?” I asked.

“Don’t let Marius torture Fenton. If you love me as much as you say you do, you’ll do this for me. I couldn’t stop the last one. Let me stop this one. Echo, you don’t have to do this.” Gray whispered.

The problem was, Marius was coming tonight for his first session with Fenton. With our only leads being torn pages, we needed what Fenton knew in order to break the curse entirely. I couldn’t keep everyone safe with him keeping his secrets.

“You just don’t understand, Gray.” I replied.

He groaned in frustration and pulled his hand away. “I understand. I understand that you would rather harm another person than try to work with them. You went straight to torture. You barely talked to him!”

“How do you know anything about what happened? You were gone. You’re always gone when I need you, Gray. Always off licking your emotional wounds or whatever instead of helping me keep everything safe! You don’t even really think of this as your home! I know you still call the pack your home. I hear you whispering to Cam about how different it is here from ‘back home’!” I hissed.

“I don’t know why you’re being quiet, Echo. They’re not sleeping. They’re dead. You don’t have to be quiet. You can’t wake the dead with a little shouting! Yeah, I think of the pack as home. They actually love me there. I’m just a warm body and a quick meal to you! You say you love me, then you don’t respect my beliefs and requests! If Victor asked you not to torture Fenton, I bet you would have jumped all over that! Everyone knows you don’t take our relationship seriously. None of them take me seriously because of it. I’m not just some blood bag himbo for you to use as you see fit!” Gray shouted.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I didn’t realize he felt like this. I couldn’t stop the torture. I had to save Victor. There was no other option.

“I-I don’t know that word.” I stuttered a little, my voice small.

“I said a lot of them. But I’m betting the one you mean is ‘love’, because you certainly don’t act like you know what it means.” He scoffed and turned away.

“Please, don’t leave me.” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Tell me you’re not going to torture Fenton.” Gray insisted.

No matter how much I wanted to say that, I couldn’t lie to him. I would use whatever methods necessary to save Victor. I know I would do the same for Gray. I felt a knot in my throat.

“That’s what I thought. I’ll keep my stuff in here, and sleep in the TV room.” He huffed and walked out of the closet.

I wrapped my arms around myself. Had I really gone too far with this? I didn’t know what to think.

On one hand, I needed to save Victor. On the other, I had to consider Gray’s feelings and I hadn’t. What was the right answer here? Was there one?

It seemed to me that I couldn’t do one without spurning the other. I couldn’t think of a right answer here. I tried to shake myself out of it. I needed to find Rosario and Sean. I could fix everything once I knew the people I loved were safe from this curse.

Wiping my eyes. I took several deep breaths and left the closet to go find out where Sean and Rosario were. At least they agreed with my decision. Gray was the only one who didn’t agree with it.

I pondered over everything as I walked down the stairs and through the kitchen to get to the backyard. I didn’t even know where to start. They were definitely in the wooded area somewhere.

When I got to the tree line, I put my hand on a tree and tried to look around. I sighed.

“Where should I start looking for them?” I whispered.

A small surge went through me, starting at my hand and traveling up my arm. I looked over at the tree I was touching. The branches seemed to be waving to another tree. It wasn’t the wind, because there was only the slightest breeze barely rustling the leaves.

“Thank you.” I told the tree, stroking the trunk.

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