The Vampire’s Servant novel Chapter 90

When Gray arrived to pick me up he did one of those handshake/hug things with Sean. My poor friend didn’t seem to know what to do. I stood to the side and bit my lips together. I would never tell Gray what a thrill he just gave Sean.

Gray took me to his truck and helped me up. I put on my seatbelt and settled the plastic bag with my prizes on the seat next to me. Gray got in and smiled.

“I won you something.” I said.

“Oh, really? What did you win for me, angel?” He asked.

I reached in and dug around in the bag until I found it. I pulled it out and let it dangle. It was a keychain with a little plastic wolf, I thought looked like Rex, on it.

“That’s cute.” Gray said, taking it from me and putting it on his keys. “What did you get for Victor?”

Reaching in the bag, I found the pen I got for Victor. It had a plastic rose on the end that looked like it was made from glass. I thought it was very pretty.

“Oh, that’s really nice. I bet he’ll like it. What else did you win?”

I pulled out a fat stuffed cat with black paws and a white body and hugged it to me.

“This is Boots and I love him.” I replied softly, cuddling my cat.

“That’s one of the prizes they hang up. I bet you didn’t have a lot of tickets after you bought that.” He chuckled.

“I had to take him home, Gray. There was a grubby kid covered in chocolate eyeing him. His fur would be ruined.” I told him defensively.

“Sounds like you saved him.” Gray said with a nod.

“I did. He’ll be safe in my room.” I smiled. “I haven’t had a stuffed animal since I started living in the basement. I can keep him, right?”

“Of course you can, angel. I’ll even go look for friends for him so he won’t be lonely.” He winked before turning on the truck and pulling out of the spot.

It wasn’t too far to the bowling alley. I watched the landscape go past as I held my stuffed animal. I’d felt guilty about not spending as much on Gray and Victor as I spent on myself, but I really wanted the cat as soon as I saw him.

After we arrived at the bowling alley, I put my cat in the bag and set it on the floor of the truck. I didn’t want anyone to break in and steal him. Gray helped me down and we went in.

There were some neon signs and vending machines. The noise of the people bowling was pretty loud. There were a lot of people there.

Gray waved to a group of teens. Three boys and three girls. Two of the girls had brown hair and one had orange hair. They looked nice. They were talking to each other with big smiles. The boys had their arms around their mates.

“This is Alan and Renee, Tony and Erin, and Ryan and Amber. Everyone, this is my mate, Echo Nightshade.” Gray said when we approached them.

Amber scrunched up her nose. “What smells like vampires?”

“I’m a dhampyr, Gray and I live with the Master of the territory. A vampire.” I explained.

“What’s a dhampyr?” She asked.

“I’m part vampire and part human.” I told her.

“Ew…. I mean…. Wow. That’s so interesting.” Amber smiled.

I didn’t think she meant to be friendly. I really didn’t like how she said ‘ew’. Then she started mindlinking the other girls. I could see them all getting that distant look before they laughed.

Involuntarily, I took a step back. Gray put his arm around my shoulders and held me close. I wanted to hide behind him.

“That wasn’t very nice, Amber. No mindlinking on this date. I want Echo to get to know all of you. Try to behave, please.” Gray said.

“You could have at least warned us. I can’t go home smelling like vampire. My dad with shit himself.” Renee huffed.

“I’ll make sure you smell like werewolf before I take you home, baby.” Alan purred.

“Guys, I want Echo to feel comfortable with my friends. Please. Don’t be jerks.” Gray asked.

“The girls will be on their best behavior. Right?” Ryan growled.

The other boys looked at their girlfriends. The girls looked at each other and nodded. This wasn’t exactly going well.

Gray took my arm and led me to the café. We let everyone else go first. They were all ordering big burgers, extra fries, and large milkshakes. I didn’t know if I could eat that much. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and a medium lemon-lime soda.

Even though they were a fair distance away, I could hear the girls talking. They were criticizing my clothes, my hair, and my food order. This was not as much fun as my time with Sean had been. But I didn’t want to disappoint Gray, so I didn’t say anything.

We sat at the biggest table there and everyone ate. I felt like I was being judged at every turn. Everything got a comment.

“Look at her little bird bites. That must be how you stay so thin. Werewolf metabolism does it for us. We can eat as much as we want and never gain weight.” Erin smiled.

“I just had a large breakfast and lunch. I don’t normally eat very much at dinner.” I told her.

That was mostly true. At dinner I was usually eating blood foods, and vampire sized portions were actually quite small compared to how much I watched all the werewolves eating. I didn’t know how my stomach would handle not having very much blood, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be too bad.

“So, Echo, you’re Harmony and Val’s sister, right?” Alan asked.

“Yes. I am.” I smiled.

I sat on the chairs and worked on changing my shoes. Gray still looked angry. I went over and sat in his lap, giving him a kiss on the cheek before I rested my head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Echo. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have just brought you here with Cam and Harmony. I thought the girls might be a little catty, but I didn’t think they would attack you like that.” Gray whispered.

“They’re worried about you and about the choices you made. They’re trying to be good friends, even if they did it in a bad way.” I told him.

“You’re not mad?” He asked.

“I wish they had liked me. I’m disappointed, but I have you. I know that you love me and have loved me from the moment you saw me. I’m not afraid they’ll change your mind about loving me. If Victor, your brother, Cam, your parents, Val, and I couldn’t change your mind, I know they can’t.” I said, kissing him again.

Gray chuckled. “You’re right. I’m a very stubborn man.”

“Thank the goddess.” I murmured, repeating something I’d heard all the wolves saying.

“You don’t even believe in the goddess.” He laughed.

“I’m getting there. Apparently she was right, I do need a puppy.” I giggled.

Gray started tickling me and I squirmed and squealed in his lap. He kissed my cheek and held me tight.

“Come on, angel. Let’s pick out a ball for you to use.” Gray said, moving me off his lap.

He helped me find a ball I could grip easily and that wasn’t too heavy. When we returned to our spot, two of the couples were there. Amber and Erin stood with their mates.

“Renee couldn’t get over it. She and Alan left. We’ll try. It’s really hard, because an alliance with vampires doesn’t immediately make everyone cool with them. Renee’s not even allowed to go to the all species club in town because vampires go there.” Amber explained.

“You didn’t like me immediately because of what I was. If you think I’ll forgive that, you’re right. If you think I’ll ever forget it, you’re wrong. I spent most of my life being hated for what I am. I finally have people who see me as special for it instead of evil. Werewolves never hurt me before today. If it made you feel powerful, then I think you need to take a close look at yourselves, because that is pretty pathetic.” I told them. “You can stay, but I refuse to be hurt, harassed, or bothered by you anymore. Your fun is over. I no longer care about what you do or say.”

I turned back to the lane and looked around. I put my ball on the machine where I saw other people putting theirs. Gray put his ball down next to mine and hugged me.

“You’re so amazing. I thought they would hurt your feelings.” He whispered.

“Only people I care about can hurt my feelings face to face. The notes from the fae kids hurt because I didn’t know who didn’t like me or why. These girls are right in front of me and they don’t matter. You only listen to your heart and no one else. You won’t be affected by them.” I smiled.

“Let’s get our game set up and then I’ll show you how to roll the ball.” Gray said.

I nodded and followed him to the computer. The rest of the evening was a lot more fun. None of his friends bothered me with anything else. The first time I actually managed to hit the pins they all cheered. I ended up having a lot of fun.

Though the night turned into a fun one, it let me know that tomorrow could be difficult. I would be ready for whatever came at me. At least I knew Gray would stay with me no matter what.