[Echo]Once Carmen had rested more and had something to eat, I took her and Austin back to Rock’s office. As soon as Viola saw Carmen, she was on the phone to Rock. Carmen didn’t look a whole lot better, but I was assuming it was just because of how much of her magic she had to use. She reported that she could actually see when we was checking Spencer out. That in itself could be a strain for her. I really felt bad about it, so I figured I would call Trent and Maeve to tell them how much Carmen helped. Maybe they could give her and Rock some sort of reward for their work. With them safely deposited, I went back to the house. It was just about lunchtime for everyone else. I went to the kitchen to help with food. Lisa took two stacked trays and I took another two. Neil answered the door and took the trays from Lisa. She closed the door after I was in. Even though he knew she was safe, Neil still wasn’t going to let her into the room. I sat the trays down on the bed and handed one to Spencer. Neil took the other trays to the opposite side of the bed and gave one to Harmony. He took his tray to the little table and chair in the corner of the room and ate while watching us. Taking a seat on the bed next to Spencer, I watched him eat his food. He was family and I would always take the best care of my family that I could. I wanted Spencer to be healthy. “You keep staring at me and it’s making me uncomfortable,” Spencer muttered. “Sorry. I was just wondering about all of your tattoos. I won’t bug you about the one in the middle of your chest, but I heard the other ones meant you were in the military.” He eyed me carefully. I gave a small smile and took a bite of my food. Harmony was giving more attention to his tattoos now, as well. “That’s why you have a guard on me who’s some sort of fighter. I can tell he’s well-trained and has seen more than a few battles. You’ve never been scared of me, though. Even when I first woke up, you were the closest person to me. You said your sister could kill me without even thinking about it. Do you have something like that?” he asked. “I have very powerful hypnosis. Even the most ancient vampires can’t resist it. And I can protect myself in other ways. Don’t worry, Spencer, I am not as simple as people think I am. I might still be learning about how to behave and interact with the world, but my trauma ensures I am always on my guard and I can also read someone’s inner intentions. I would know if you wanted to hurt me,” I answered. Spencer nodded and went back to eating. I did as well. I wouldn’t share that I knew anything else about him aside from what he told me. It was easier to lie by omission than it was to make something up. And I was always more than willing to lie if it got me what I wanted and kept my friends and family safe. We finished lunch together and I gathered all of the trays and dishes. Spencer laid down again and Harmony laid down with him. ‘His wife was related to us. Her last name was Aimes. It might be very distantly, but he’s family. Don’t let him know that. We don’t want to give away what Carmen saw. He won’t trust us,’ I told my sister.‘He deserves to know. If he knows he’s with family, he might relax more,” Harmony argued. ‘Do not tell him, Harmony. You can’t see in him. I can. Right now, this is what he can accept. I told him I considered him family because his wife was a witch. From what Carmen said, all he has ever known is found family. It will mean more to him than being related by marriage to a relative we never knew. Please trust me, Harmony.’She didn’t look happy, but she gave me a brief nod. Harmony usually thought she knew what was best. Though she did more often than not, she also had some large blinders that would hide information she needed in certain situations. It was part of the reason she backed Gray as my mate and wanted me to give up Victor. In that case, it was her love for me and her love for Cam that made her think my best option was a werewolf as my only mate. It made her happy to be with Cam and she thought Gray would give me what Cam gave her. On some level, he did, but I also needed what only Victor could give me. “I’ll be back closer to five to take you home, Harmony,” I said softly. “See you then,” she replied. I left the room where Spencer was starting to doze and Harmony was looking pretty sleepy, too. It looked like the later months of pregnancy were probably more tiring than the first few months. I didn’t look forward to sleeping more again, but I did look forward to everything that would come after. For the rest of the day, I worked on things around the house. I called Maeve and Trent to let them know how Carmen had helped me and that I would give Victor the recording once he was awake. They were both okay with waiting to find out more since this was just about helping to heal one of the creature’s victims. I called and left a message with Tyler for Dennis and Sybil. They would want to know that Spencer was getting better. I doubted Victor had given them much of an update. When my timer went off, it was time to take Harmony back home. Gray and Cam got off work at five and it would take them a little time to get home. Victor would be waking up soon as well. Spring was taking away my extra time with him, but summer would give me even less time. I walked into the room and saw Harmony talking with Spencer. He was totally enthralled with what she was saying. I could tell Harmony was focusing more on him. She looked intent and he answered every question she was asking. Harmony looked up at me and her hold on Spencer wavered. I could see a confused expression on his face. She had been pushing too hard and it was noticeable. Marius told us the best mind control was invisible mind control. If they couldn’t tell you were doing it, even afterward, then you were doing it right. “It’s time for you to go home, Harmony,” I said. “Sorry, I guess I was just getting engrossed in our conversation. I lost track of time. Thank you for talking with me, Spencer. I hope it helped you to be able to open up to someone,” Harmony told him. He nodded in a sluggish way. Spencer let go of Harmony’s hand and laid back against his pillows. His shoulders sagged and he looked a lot older than he had previously. I frowned at my sister. She got up from the bed and waddled over to where I was waiting for her. Harmony had a defiant look in her eyes, as if she was daring me to challenge her. She wasn’t normally standoffish with me, so I was pretty sure it was just her werewolf side asserting itself. I lowered my eyes and held out my hand for her. Gray taught me a lot about dealing with dominant werewolves. He and Victor wanted me to know all about every species possible. They were giving me more information on werewolves and vampires all the time. I learned about fae from Rosario and Victor’s books covered other shapeshifters. Sometimes you had to lower your eyes to stop a dominant shifter from getting angry with you. As her pregnancy went on and Harmony couldn’t shift into her wolf, Mercy, anymore, she started having more wolf like tendencies. I didn’t mind as much. Harmony was always Harmony to me. I knew she wouldn’t hurt me even if I didn’t lower my eyes. Harmony took my hand and I glanced up at her. She was smiling at me. I smiled back. She closed her eyes and I transported us to her house. Once we were there, she opened her eyes and let go of my hand. “Did you learn anything else?” I asked. “He told me about his kids. They were six and seven when they died. It made me sad, but I managed not to cry. He knew so much about them. Their favorite colors, their favorite toys and shows, the names of all of their friends, and their favorite foods. “He talked about how they did in school. His daughter had just started, but his son was in the first grade. They were already bilingual because he talked to them in Italian and English. “Spencer didn’t say what he did for a living. All he talked about was his family. He told me everything he could remember about his wife, too. He said she was brave and bold. Those were two of the qualities he loved most about her in the beginning, but he loved more the more he saw. All he wanted to talk about was them when they were alive,” Harmony said softly. “He misses them. I couldn’t imagine if Victor or Gray disappeared from my life suddenly and if….” My hand dropped to my stomach and my sister mimicked the motion. “I would never forgive myself if I wasn’t at least there to try to save Cam and Adam,” Harmony whispered. I nodded. That was the guilt Spencer was feeling. He wasn’t there to try to help or stop whatever happened. It made me sad when I first heard it and it still made me sad to think of. “You should go. Victor will wake up soon. I bet he’s going to be surprised about how much information you got.” She hugged me. “I know he’s going to be proud of you for helping.” “Really? You think so?” I asked. “Yes. Even if it doesn’t help the community, it helps him to know the person he’s harboring in his home is safe.” “How did you know? I didn’t say anything.” “Aside from the fact that he married a witch? You didn’t say anything and you didn’t go drop him off a cliff. I know you would have if he were a threat to me or any of your other family. Go. You don’t want to miss Victor waking up,” Harmony murmured as she let me go. I teleported to my bedroom. It was dim because of the lighter window tint we were using in the bedroom now. Gray needed daylight to help get going, so we made the changes in our bedroom instead of keeping it dark. Victor was still in bed. I had turned on the heated blanket before I went to get Harmony, so it was nice and warm. I climbed under the blankets with him, pulled him against me again, and cuddled up. In much the same way I enjoyed cuddling with Gray in the mornings, because he was so warm and cuddly, Victor loved cuddling with me in the afternoons. My body temperature wasn’t as naturally high as Gray’s but it wasn’t as naturally low as a full vampire. I felt just a little cool to the touch to most people, but I was cuddly warm for Victor. “Mmm. Echo, I thought you would be in your usual position when I woke,” Victor murmured. “You don’t dream while you sleep. You go from being awake to being in the dark and back to being awake. If you still needed to be held, I wanted to be there for you.” He smiled softly and moved up to kiss my neck. After three long, lingering kisses, Victor’s fangs slid into my neck. He pulled back and started drinking from me. I rubbed his back while he did. Victor didn’t need much blood and he didn’t need it often. Unless I was feeling a little bite shy, I would let him feed on me. Sometimes, he would even feed on Gray. Sometimes I liked watching that, especially when Victor bit him in the curve of his neck instead of his wrist. It was almost like they were being dirty together and probably the closest I would ever get to seeing them kiss. “Stop imagining me locked in an embrace with Grayson, princess,” Victor ordered as he sealed the wound on my neck. I giggled. I rarely did it on accident like I had back when projecting my imagination on to people was still new. They definitely appreciated my newfound control. Victor and Gray weren’t having to deal with the dirty ways I imagined them interacting without warning anymore. Almost…. “Sorry, Victor. I also wanted to talk to you about what I did today. Did you want to get ready for the day while I tell you, or did you want something else?” I asked as I looked into his beautiful violet eyes. “Did you arouse yourself by thinking about Grayson and me again?” he laughed. I blushed. Sometimes it was hard to keep from getting turned on by them. Both were such handsome men and the idea of them kissing and touching each other did things to me. I nodded. “Well then, I guess we’ll have to do something about that,” he purred and pulled me down to lie on the mattress. His hands slid down my body as I soaked in the feeling of my husband touching me. Victor was very different from Gray and I loved everything about him. He was never desperate and his enthusiasm wasn’t as fervent as Gray’s. That didn’t make it any less amazing.