The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 684. Theatrics

Chapter 684: 684. Theatrics

Barely a few minutes into the walk, they were interrupted by a servant. They were at the back of the castle, where the guards and the lords had retired from their usual training grounds, leaving the field empty. Jael glared at the servant, who walked up to them with their head bowed. He clearly wasn’t very pleased by the interruption. He got even angrier when he found out the reason for it.

"Tell her to get some rest," he said to the servant. "I will see her during the last meal."

The servant bowed and went back the way they had come. "Are you sure about this?" Mauve asked. "You haven’t seen your aunt in a while."

"I told you she isn’t my aunt," he refuted.

Mauve simply nodded, though a part of her wished she could be properly introduced to Lady Marceline now that she was Jael’s mate. Aunt or not, she was still family, his only family, excluding Louis.

"Are you okay?" he asked as she clung to him.

Mauve wondered if this was his way of checking if he had annoyed her with his words, but she wasn’t annoyed; she was just a little sad. "Yes," she said. "Thank you for this."

The rest of the walk was done in silence before they headed back to the castle. As it was already time for the last meal, they headed for the dining hall, and the instant they walked in, a figure sprinted toward them. Mauve let out a soft gasp as their path was blocked. It took her a moment to recognize, but when she did, her face softened.

"Lady Marceline," she said and slowly bent her knees. She recalled Danag telling her she was to bow to no one else except Jael, but this was different, right?

"Mauve," Lady Marceline said, "or should I say my lady? He truly marked you, didn’t he? I would have thought he was incapable of something like that."

It was hard to tell if she disliked this or not. Mauve slowly lifted her head to look up at the lean figure. Lady Marceline stood tall, and as always, her mate clung to her. Mauve thought she heard Alaric softly whisper, "My lady."

"Out of our way," Jael stated.

"I cannot believe you would announce such news to me in the same manner as everyone else," Lady Marceline complained, ignoring Jael’s order.

"As always, Lady Marceline, you overestimate our relationship. Still, how did you get here so fast? I only—"

"Jael," Louis’s voice broke through as she walked toward them. "Don’t be rude to auntie."

"Louis," Lady Marceline turned and smiled at him. "You’re the only one kind to me."

He smiled back. "But I am sure auntie is tired. Eat some food and get some rest; you can pull Jael’s ears tomorrow. I will even pull them for you."

"You will do no such thing," Jael replied, not the least bit amused by the theatrics.

He took a step forward, looking very prepared to push Lady Marceline out of the way, but thankfully, Lady Marceline listened to Louis’s advice and was already following him back to her seat. Alaric turned back to look at Mauve, and she waved. He looked surprised at her gesture and quickly turned away.

She held back a laugh. Maybe, if he wasn’t so shy, they would be good friends, but he wouldn’t even look at her or leave Lady Marceline’s side. She thought their relationship was a little weird, but she didn’t disapprove. Lady Marceline seemed to understand Alaric, and likewise.

"I didn’t know you were friends," said a grumpy Jael.

She turned to see him looking down at her with a scowl. "I wouldn’t say that, but Lord Alaric is always nice to me," she replied.

"Hmm," he said and looked away.

Mauve didn’t miss that he didn’t look at her again until halfway through his meal. Mauve found it amusing, but she was very aware of how jealous Jael could be; he would complain even about Louis. Still, it could be a little silly sometimes.

However, by the time they headed to his bedroom, Jael seemed to have forgotten all about this. They got into bed, and he held her close. "How do you feel?"

"Full," Mauve said with a chuckle. She knew that wasn’t what he was asking about but she didn’t want to discuss the sad subject.

"That is good," he replied and ran his hands through her hair.

"Do you think Lady Marceline approves?" she asked.

"Does it matter?" Jael replied.

Mauve wanted to tell him that it did. However, she didn’t want to set him off, but she would love it if things got better between Jael and his family. She couldn’t comprehend how someone could be this pigheaded. The only person he managed to get along with was Kieran.

Jael’s hand paused in her hair. "It bothers you, doesn’t it?" he asked, his voice softer than usual.

Mauve froze a little; she hadn’t expected him to want to talk about her feelings in this matter. "I would be lying if I said it didn’t," she mumbled.

Jael sighed and pulled his hand from her hair to his. "As much as I hate to say this, but you have nothing to worry about with Marceline. She can be blunt, borderline cruel, nosy, and demanding, but I know she wouldn’t be against our union."

Mauve nodded. "Thank you," she said. "Do you think you and she will ever make up?" Mauve suddenly blurted out, unable to help herself.

"I don’t think so," he said and returned his hand to her hair. "And that is not for you to worry about. You should get some sleep now. You’ve had a worse day than any of us." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

Mauve leaned longer into the kiss than she needed to, soaking in as much strength from it as she could. She knew she would need it. "I love you," she mumbled as she pulled away, a blush appearing on her face.

Jael’s eyes widened, and he pulled her head so she faced him and kissed her. "I love you."