The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 626. Another Paler Attack

Chapter 626: 626. Another Paler Attack

Thankfully, Mauve was able to get cleaned up in time for the second meal. She couldn’t believe Jael had done that in his study and going along with it says a lot about her which was concerning. She was also very worried about who was behind the door when it happened.

Mauve palmed her face as she recalled the incident. She wouldn’t be able to look anyone in the eye. It didn’t help that her neck was littered with bite marks, but at least Jael didn’t go overboard this time. It wasn’t in such a visible place that she would need a scarf to hide it, but if one looked closely, they could see it. She just hoped the candles weren’t bright enough.

"Mauve, your hands," Mill said.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized with a smile as she pulled her hand from her face. She blushed lightly as Mill added a little color to her cheeks.

This made her remember the kiss marks she had left on Jael’s cheeks, and she couldn’t recall seeing them on him in the study. This train of thought prompted another blush from her.

"I doubt you need any makeup on your face," Mill joked, making Mauve even redder.

"Why would you make a joke like that, Mill?"

Mill let out a little laugh. "My apologies. I didn’t think it would bother you like that."

"It does," she cried. "Very much so."

She knew it was obvious what had happened, and now it wasn’t only Mill she had to worry about. Someone had definitely heard her screams in the study. Jael and his antics. As if calling him forth with her thoughts, the connecting door was immediately thrown open and he walked in.

Mauve jerked her head towards the door and swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn’t deny that there was something about Jael when his hair was slightly wet. It was slicked back in a ponytail, and a few strands had escaped, falling to the front of his face. Mauve looked away immediately, knowing that if he saw her stare, he would never let her hear the end of it.

"Sire," Mill said with a bow and took a step back.

"Mill," he spoke to her directly. "Are you done here?" he asked.

Mill nodded. "Yes, Sire. We only just finished."

"Mauve," he called, turning his gaze to her. Mauve scoffed, refusing to look at him. He smirked and walked closer to her. He stretched out his hand as he stood next to her, and Mauve reluctantly took it. He helped her to her feet and moved her so she landed against his chest.

"Jael! What are you doing?" She glared up at him.

"Finally, you’re looking at me. Don’t tell me you’re angry."

"I am not angry," she pouted.

"Good," he whispered into her face. "Because I would have sworn you were having more of a swell time than I was."

"Jael!" Mauve screamed, wanting the ground to open and swallow her. "How can you say that?"

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. Mauve’s face softened immediately and she leaned into his kiss. The familiar coolness was more soothing than it should have been. Jael slowly pulled away, and she was smiling even though she was supposed to be annoyed with him.

Why did she easily go along with what he wanted? But how could she not when he looked at her with such pride in his eyes, and his constant need to show her off warmed her. She would be lying if she said she couldn’t see it. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that Jael loved her.

"Well, someone looks happy. Perhaps I should do that more often."

Mauve’s eyes widened and she glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter. I meant kiss your forehead, but if it’s the other thing you want, I am always more than happy to oblige. We could go now if you like. The second meal can certainly wait," he responded.

"Don’t say that in front of Mill." Mauve sounded on the verge of tears. She hid her face in the front of his shirt.

Jael chuckled. "Mill," he called. "Did you hear anything?"

"Of course not, Sire," Mill responded with a neutral tone.

"You see," he replied.

Mauve shut her eyes before pulling away from his chest. It was annoying that he loved to tease her so much. "I am going to the dining hall," she yelled and pulled away from him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could make it anywhere.

"Not without me, you don’t," he said, stepping in line with her and leading her out of the room.

He didn’t say a word as they walked to the stairs, but Mauve could tell there was a smug look on his face. "I am guessing the letter wasn’t so bad," she said as they walked down the stairs.

Mauve realized she had completely forgotten to ask, and if not for the fact that she was annoyed by his smile, she probably wouldn’t have remembered.

"It wasn’t great, but since there were no casualties, I guess you can say that," he replied, his tone serious.

Mauve was surprised he answered directly. Earlier in the study, he didn’t seem to want to talk about it, and then he had done things that had gotten her completely distracted.

"Something did happen!" she gasped.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice breaking a little. Just because there weren’t any casualties didn’t mean someone wouldn’t be badly injured. It was Palers they were talking about; there was a very high probability someone was attacked. She winced as she thought of this. Jael was already under a lot of pressure; she could only imagine how the attack was affecting him, but he seemed to be taking it well. Perhaps it wasn’t as bad as she was thinking.

"Are you sure you want to hear about this just before you eat the second meal? We can always talk about it later," he explained, glancing at her as they got to the foot of the stairs.

"Yes. If I don’t find out now, it will be all I think about during the second meal, and I don’t want that."

"Don’t blame me if your food tastes sour in your stomach."

"It won’t," she responded. "I promise."

"Lord Levaton’s castle was attacked—"

"What!" Mauve couldn’t help the fear that rose in her throat. These were vampires she had interacted with more often than not. It was a completely different case when it was people you knew.

"Don’t panic!" Jael said, squeezing her palm. "They managed to notice it in time and were able to chase off the Palers before they caused any harm to the people in the estate."

"Oh, thank goodness," she mumbled.

"However, properties were damaged, and there is a huge gap in the fence. They need to rebuild it as soon as possible. The problem currently isn’t that they were attacked, but this does confirm that Palers are banding together, as there had been three Palers reported. However, I guess the last incident has everyone on the lookout, and they were able to notice in time..." Jael’s words trailed off as though he realized he may have said a little too much.

"That’s good," she nodded. Vampires had barely recovered from the last incident. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen if they had to deal with more deaths so soon. "Have you been able to—"

"That’s enough about the subject!" Jael said as they stopped in front of the dining hall. The guards bowed before opening the doors for them. "If there is anything important that you need to talk about, we can do it after you have eaten. For now, I’d prefer if you stop thinking about the gloomy subject."

Mauve nodded and walked into the dining hall with him. There was no way she would forget about it, but Jael was right—this was not the sort of conversation you had before or during a meal.

The air in the dining hall was serious. Were they all aware of the incident? Most likely, yes. She glanced at Louis and he smirked. He slowly rose to his feet, as did the rest of the vampires.

Mauve walked forward, putting some distance between her and Jael as she headed for her seat. He tugged at her wrist, but she didn’t slow down, and he reluctantly let go of her. She stopped by her seat, waiting for him to help her, and she could see the frown on his face ease.

Mauve was seated before Jael walked to his own side of the table and sat down. He scanned the table as the Lords and his personal guards took their seats. Mauve thought a few people were missing, but these weren’t vampires she was very familiar with.

The meal ended without much conversation, and Jael led her out of the dining hall as she walked beside him once again.