The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 691. Treacherous Woods

Chapter 691: 691. Treacherous Woods

Mauve gripped her cutlery with enough force to break it. If she had thought the second meal was uncomfortable, this one was practically unbearable. She tried to stab a piece of meat and missed. Thankfully, it didn’t fly off the plate. With Lord Garth looking like he would come apart any minute, she didn’t want to be the last straw, considering he was in a foul mood because of her.

Jael turned his gaze to her, and Mauve felt her eyes water. She managed a small smile, and he turned away. Could he not feel the tension in the air? It was like a hundred arrows were aimed her way. Not once had she glanced in the Garths’ direction since walking into the dining hall. She didn’t need to; she could feel the tension even from the entrance.

Lord Garth had reluctantly stood up as they walked in, and he was the last to sit down. He didn’t speak to Jael and just ate his food, fuming. His mate tried to release some of the tension, but she gave up even before the meal started. Sabrina didn’t seem to be in a good mood either.

The only person completely unbothered in the family was Helana. She spoke in her usual chirpy voice and demanded the salt. Her father was the closest to it, but he didn’t budge; a servant had to hand it to her. She didn’t bat an eyelid at this and just ate on.

It was pretty clear the conversation had not gone smoothly. Mauve had not had the opportunity to ask Jael, as he only returned to her room when it was almost time for the second meal. She had tried to get some information out of him, but he had simply shrugged.

Lady Jevera ate with her nose in the air. Lord Levaton seemed to look brighter, and Mauve wondered if seeing the Garths in misery brought the Levatons some light. If she weren’t the reason for this, she might have found some amusement in it.

Lady Marceline and Francine had joined for the last meal, with the two of them sitting right next to each other, chatting, but it was pretty clear their conversation wasn’t going smoothly either. No one could properly converse with the fuming Lord Garth.

Mauve had actually expected some resistance from Lady Francine, but there seemed to be none. However, she had neither addressed Mauve nor held her stare, and Mauve was fine with that. Compared to Lord Garth’s act, she would take this.

Suddenly, Lady Marceline dropped her cutlery onto the plate. The loud clang had Lord Alaric grasping his ears. The poor Lord was quite close and had gotten the full force of it.

Jael raised his head slowly. "What is the meaning of that, Lady Marceline?"

"Oh, my bad," she mumbled weakly. "It slipped out of my hands. Are you okay, Alaric?" She turned her attention to her mate.

There was no way it had slipped, and this fact was clear to everyone. Louis snickered, and Jael shot him a look. Satisfied her mate’s ears weren’t bleeding, she turned her attention back to the table with every eye still on her, Lady Marceline picked up the cutlery and continued eating as though nothing had happened.

It took a few moments for things to return to normal. However, Mauve did notice the tension had been broken, and more conversations started. Lord Garth was still quiet and brooding, but at least his mood no longer affected the rest of the Lords at the table.

Mauve turned to Marceline, but the lady didn’t spare her a glance as she was locked in a conversation with Lady Francine. Her stare rested on Alaric, and he covered his face some more with his hair. She smiled briefly before turning away, only to see Jael glaring at Alaric.

Mauve almost jumped out of her skin. She had not expected his attention to be on her, let alone notice their exchange. He slowly turned to Mauve, and his eyes twitched. She held her breath, but Jael didn’t say anything; he just turned his attention back to his meal.

By the time the meal was over, Mauve was exhausted, and all she wanted to do was get into bed and sleep.

As they rose from the table, Mauve instinctively reached for Jael’s arm, seeking some reassurance after the tense meal. He paused, glancing down at her, his expression softening just slightly. "Tired?" he asked in a low voice.

She nodded, smiling slightly at the concern in his voice. "A little. It’s been a long day."

"Let’s go," he said simply, placing his hand over hers and guiding her out of the dining hall.

The air outside the dining hall was refreshing after the stifling tension of the dining room. Mauve let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She noticed Jael’s jaw was tight, his irritation clearly lingering. Still, he didn’t say anything as they walked in silence back to his room.

Once they were inside, Mauve rushed to the bed and sat down, throwing herself backward onto the bed. She sighed loudly. Jael walked to her and stood directly in front of her, staring down at her. She met his eyes. "That was unbearable," she softly admitted.

Jael held her gaze for a moment before responding. "Lord Garth is testing my patience. He’ll learn his place soon enough."

Mauve hesitated. "I have to assume the meeting didn’t go well," she mumbled, sitting up.

He frowned, moving to sit beside her. "Yeah," he said nonchalantly. "They’re unhappy about your place here. They’ll get over it, or they won’t. Either way, it’s their problem."

Mauve looked down at her hands. "I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble." As usual, Jael was casual about this, while she couldn’t help but think it was a huge problem. If someone like Lord Garth wouldn’t even want to listen, she had to assume the rest of the Lords would be vehemently against this. She didn’t want that.

"You didn’t," Jael said, his tone leaving no room for argument. He reached for her hand, his fingers brushing against hers. "This isn’t your fault, Mauve. His outbursts and anger won’t change what has happened. No one can change my mind."

He kissed the side of her face, and Mauve couldn’t help the smile that escaped her lips. It was pretty hard, but when Jael said things like this, it made her think it was simply a walk in the park and not through treacherous woods.

"That makes me so happy," she replied and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him.