The Vampire’s Servant novel Chapter 19

Echo

When the waiter left, I was super relieved. He was always staring and had inched closer while we were ordering, ending up right next to me again. I looked at Victor. He was glaring after the waiter.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“I don’t like how close he was to you or how open he was about his nature. We should leave.” He answered.

“But, we just ordered. That would be rude, Victor. The restaurant would have wasted all the money for the food.” I replied.

“It won’t cost them much. They comp more than that most nights.” Rosy said.

“Please. Don’t make me go because some boy was acting strange. I really want to stay here. Maybe it’s because of my blood, too.” I offered.

They looked at each other. Something passed between them, but I didn’t understand their expressions. Victor sighed. He seemed disappointed. It nearly made me want to leave like he’d suggested. I never wanted to disappoint him.

“Werewolves are humans who turn into wolves. They’re stronger, have better reflexes and senses, and they do a lot of strange things because of their animal side. They can be truly… unrestrained creatures.” Marius explained. “I think he may believe you’re his mate, Echo.”

“His what?” I asked.

“Wolves born into a pack believe their goddess predetermines their romantic conclusion. The person they’ll marry. It’s an odd thing to see when two wolves find each other and are mates.” Marius responded.

“He thinks I’m supposed to marry him? Wow.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m still not leaving. He can believe what he wants. I’m Victor’s servant before anything else. If he wants me, he has to do more than tell me some deity commanded it. That deity didn’t do anything to help me when I was suffering. I won’t do anything for her.”

Victor was looking past Rosalynn with a smirk. I followed his gaze. Our waiter was only a few feet away with a tray of drinks. There was a look of pain in his eyes, but he moved forward and set drinks down. I felt a little bad. I hadn’t intended him to hear that.

“If you’d like, you can purchase a bottle of wine and bring a vial of blood in. We mix drinks for many of our vampire customers.” He said quietly.

“We’ll remember that. Thank you.” Victor smiled and dismissed him.

Grayson stared at me for a while before leaving the table. I felt a blush creep up. That was a little embarrassing, but at least he’d understand. He wasn’t meant for me. No one was.

“That was pretty cold, Echo.” Rosalynn snickered.

“It was the truth. I spent ten years being used, told where to go, what to do, and how to do it. This is the first time I’ve been free. I’m not giving it up so I can be some werewolf’s wife. We should stop talking about this.” I said and pulled out my phone to set up my language app.

It changed the whole mood of the meal. It was tense and I didn’t really want to be there anymore. I wished I hadn’t fought against leaving. Why couldn’t anything just be the way I imagined it would? I did my best to lighten the mood when I could.

Grayson was distant, but polite. I really didn’t want anything to do with anyone else. I was Victor’s servant. I didn’t want to be anything else.

He saved me. I wasn’t going to discount that just because some ‘goddess’ decided I needed a puppy. I was glad he didn’t push it. I wouldn’t be nice if he had. I preferred being nice when I could.

At the end of the meal, we opted not to have dessert. I was more than happy to leave without it. Victor wasn’t going to leave a tip until I gave him big pleading eyes.

Harmony once told me that most servers lived off their tips and weren’t paid a lot hourly. Just because the waiter thought a goddess wanted him to love me, wasn’t a good excuse for not giving him the money he deserved. He was on top of everything through the meal.

As I walked out the door behind everyone, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Grayson, really freaking close again. I jumped away.

“You left your phone.” He said shyly, handing me my phone.

“Umm. Thanks, I guess. Sorry, if I hurt your feelings earlier. You should ask your goddess for a different mate, if that’s what’s going on here. I’m not good for you. You deserve someone better.” I told him.

“You don’t even know me. I wasn’t going to say anything because you didn’t know me and I wanted to give you time. I still do. Go on a date with me. Please. Just, give me time to let you know me.” He pled.

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