The Vampire’s Servant novel Chapter 150

[Echo]

We went into the dining room when Lisa came to get us. I sat at my usual seat and waited. Talia brought Amelia in with her. They were chatting and smiling like old friends.

Finn stiffened as he heard their voices. I wondered what had gotten into him. Amelia sat next to her sister. Finn gazed at her with a look I very much understood. He was in love with her.

“Amelia, are you dating anyone?” I asked.

Finn’s gaze swung around to me. He seemed shocked.

“Nope.” She answered cheerfully. “Just living my life to its fullest before I cast my soulmate search.”

“What about you, Emmalyn?” I asked.

“No. I don’t date.” Emmalyn responded coolly.

Gray walked in the room. He looked around before seeing that his spot was empty. Samuel, Dillon, and Jean-Claude were eating outside this evening. We had just enough chairs for everyone after taking most of the chairs from the kitchen. The girls would just eat later.

I looked at Gray with hope. He didn’t look very happy to see me. I had to make him feel like I acknowledged him. Like I really saw him.

“Gray.” I said, standing and holding out my hand.

He looked down at my hand and back up to my eyes. My hopes were granted as he walked over and took my hand. I smiled at him.

“Gray, this is Brian and Hope Flowers. Over there are Amelia and Emmalyn Grove. Everyone, this is my husband, Gray Padua. He’s a werewolf from the Hallowed Moon Pack.” I explained.

“I thought your name was Nightshade.” Amelia said as we settled in.

“That’s her other husband’s name.” Gray muttered picking up his plate and dishing some food onto it.

His expression was still angry. I thought this was what he wanted. I thought this was how I could make it right.

“I’m going to add Gray’s name as soon as we get this curse settled. Victor has the connections to get my name changed quickly.” I replied.

Gray looked at me, a little shocked. Then he smiled and took my hand again, giving it a loving squeeze. I had been talking to Harmony about how I could make Gray feel like I valued him more and she suggested hyphenating my last name to be Nightshade-Padua. I was so happy it worked.

“I love you, Gray. I can’t wait to have your name too.” I smiled.

“Thank you, angel. I love you, too. I’m sorry I’ve been hard to deal with. We can talk about it later. I want you to eat your dinner. You need to be strong and healthy if we’re going to beat this curse.” He murmured and dished some food onto my plate.

While we ate, everyone got to know each other better. Amelia was bubbly and playful. Emmalyn was a little cooler and more businesslike. She still had a sense of humor, it was just harder to make her laugh. Brian and Hope worked to get along with everyone and I saw how they doted on Rosario and Sean.

Hope was extremely proud of her son. She kept talking to us about the groups on social media that she’d joined to learn how to support her son and kept calling herself a ‘glitter mom’, which made Sean blush.

I could tell he was happy, though. His parents may be embarrassing, but they loved him a lot. Rosario was telling them how he could bespell them to always see through the fae glamour that hid his neighborhood. They would be accepted as honorary fae, since their son was Rosario’s mate.

The plates were being cleared. Hope complimented Wendell and Lisa on their cooking. I could tell they were both pleased. We always let them know how grateful we were for their help.

“So, I haven’t seen the Old Man around. The ladies at the home said you took him. Is he doing okay with all these people and werewolves around?” Brian asked.

Sean looked at me with wide eyes. We hadn’t expected him to ask after the cat. Gray squeezed my hand.

“You have to tell him.” He whispered.

“Brian. I’m sorry. The cat is in a cage in my office. He’s being fed well and has lots to entertain him. He’s just not safe to be allowed to roam free.” I answered.

“Echo.” Gray said in a warning tone.

I bit my lips together. He’d be mad at me if I didn’t tell Brian the cat was Fenton. I would just not tell him about the torture plan.

“To be fully honest, Brian, the cat isn’t what he seems. He’s actually Fenton Sr. and we’re keeping him locked up in hopes of him telling us what curse he placed on the Master of the territory.” I admitted.

“What? How?” He asked.

“You have a witch in a cat’s body? That’s so cool!” Amelia exclaimed. “And you can understand what he says?”

“Only people related to Fenton can understand him. He’s quite talkative.” I replied.

Harmony scoffed and nodded quietly. Brian looked shocked. I didn’t know what else to say.

“Can I see him?” Brian asked.

“Me too!” Amelia grinned.

Finn seemed alarmed for a few moments, but calmed down quickly. Talia put her hand on his arm and he nodded to her. I knew that vampires could talk mentally with their sires, but it was still a little strange.

I stood and they followed. Emmalyn hadn’t said anything, but she was hot on our heels heading toward the office. Hope stayed back, saying she never liked the cat anyway and wanted to talk to Rosario and Sean some more.

Opening the door, I heard Fenton groan. He was probably expecting Gray to come in. He seemed surprised when I led in my little witch procession.

“Here he is. Fenton. You remember Brian. This is Emmalyn and Amelia. They wanted to see you.” I said.

“So you told him who I am. I didn’t expect to see you again before I died, Brian. At least I can tell you how much of a disappointment you are. Letting your boy be gay with that elf. Letting him become fae. Never becoming a witch worth anything.” Fenton grumbled.

“Wow, you weren’t lying. He sounds like my grandfather did. Same tone and disappointment that I never manifested an affinity.” Brian scoffed.

“I suppose she’s gotten you to agree to try and talk me into revealing my curse. I’m not going to do it. So you can go.” Fenton huffed.

There was a clattering sound and I looked over to the couch. Emmalyn had spread a cloth over the coffee table and was pulling out stones and arranging them on the cloth. I watched her as she focused on the stones in front of her.

“He powers the spell. That’s why he’s still alive. The other spells are powered by the supernaturals trapped inside them. He’s very angry about a loss. It sparked his own madness and his descent into the dark arts. He’s never been accepting of other species and sees them as abominations. This enabled him to use them. He even sees humans as lesser beings. His belief that witches are the supreme species powers his hate and madness.” Emmalyn said solemnly.

“What are you doing? Stop that!” Fenton growled.

“Or what, you’ll cough up a hairball?” She scoffed. “You’re torturing that poor cat. He’s still inside there. All he wanted was to hunt mice and live a happy life. You took that from him.”

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