The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 692. Louis’ Health

Chapter 692: 692. Louis’ Health

The next couple of days were pretty busy for Jael with several lords coming into the castle. Mauve barely saw him except during mealtimes. She ended up spending most of her time with either Louis or Sabrina. At the moment, she was with Louis, and he wasn’t very pleased about teaching her magic.

"Every day for the past week, Mauve. Isn’t that too much?"

"It hasn’t been a week yet!" she countered. "It’s just been five days."

"Five days, seven days, there isn’t much difference."

"Two days is a lot of difference." Mauve winced as she said this; it was the exact number of days left before Jael would make the announcement. She was anxious, very much so, and would rather not be alone as it was all she could think about.

"No, it isn’t. We risk getting caught if we practice every day."

"No, Louis. The only people likely to barge in here are Jael and Sabrina." Mauve would have added Mill, but Mill had been so busy recently that other servants were attending to Mauve. "But Jael is too busy, and Sabrina and I have a fixed time to keep each other company. She won’t bother us before then."

Louis touched the bridge of his nose. "I still think you should take a break. At least for today. You’ve been doing pretty well with the spells; no need to overexert yourself."

Mauve frowned, his action drawing her attention to his eyes. She immediately noticed the bags under them. "Have you been getting any sleep?" she blurted.

Louis froze and looked up at her. "Yes," he said, recovering quickly.

"You don’t look like you have," she replied, leaning forward.

Louis leaned back immediately. "What are you doing?"

"Checking." She leaned even closer and placed the back of her hand on his forehead.

Louis let it stay for a few moments, then gently pushed her hand away. "I’m a vampire, remember? I’m not sick and even if I was I am not going to get a fever. I’ve just had a lot of things to think about."

"Enough to make you forfeit sleep?" she scolded.

"I’ve been sleeping enough."

"What about blood?" Mauve pressured. "When was the last time you drank any?"

"Why? Are you offering some?" Louis smirked.

"Sure," Mauve said, taking off the glove on her left hand and stretching it toward him.

The smile vanished from Louis’s face. He had been teasing, expecting nothing more than an adamant refusal. He flicked his eyes to her wrist and then back to her face. "What are you doing?"

"You asked if I was offering some. Yes, here you go. Consider it your payment for being such a lenient teacher." She grinned at him.

If it were anyone else, Louis would have thought they were teasing back, but this was Mauve. He knew she meant every word, and there wasn’t any mockery in her tone. She was indeed offering her blood to him.

Louis’s eyes narrowed, and his jaw hardened. "Thank you for your very kind offer, but you should know better than to offer just anyone your blood."

Mauve could clearly remember when Damon had refused to drink her blood, choosing to die rather than take what belonged to the Primus. At the time, she had thought it was stupid and Jael was exceptionally cruel. Knowing how important blood was to vampires, she didn’t think that way anymore. However, this was Louis.

"You’re not just anyone," she mumbled.

"What would you tell Jael?" he asked, folding his arms. His expression was relaxed now, with a hint of a smile on his face.

"I can wear my gloves to bed," she replied.

Louis laughed. "And the smell of the blood?"

"I’ll use scented oil."

"Even if you drown yourself in it, Jael would be able to smell your blood from a mile away."

"You exaggerate," she replied.

"Maybe." Louis stood to his feet. "I appreciate the thought, but I’m not in such a terrible state. I apologize for presenting myself in a manner that made you think I needed help."

"Why are you speaking so formally?" She glared at him.

He laughed again and picked up her glove. "Here, let me help you."

"Okay." Mauve didn’t push it. If Damon had not accepted her offer, of course Louis would refuse. She didn’t feel annoyed or disappointed by it. She had truly wanted to give him some; it was the least she could do.

Louis carefully slipped the glove back into place. Satisfied with his work, he let go of her hand and looked at her face. "I have to go."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? I’m in such a terrible state that you’d dare offer me your blood. You’re the Primus’s mate, and even if you weren’t, it would be preposterous for me to even think about accepting your offer. Don’t worry. The next time I appear in front of you, I’ll be fine." He smiled at her.

Mauve slowly nodded. "Are you sure nothing is wrong?" she asked instead.

"No, I just got a little careless," he replied.

There was no lie in his words. Louis had just spent the past couple of days combing through books, trying to find anything that would help Mauve’s pregnancy—any records of a human bearing a vampire’s child or at least something along those lines. He had gone through scores of books and had just forgotten to properly sleep and feed in the process.

The most knowledgeable person to ask would be Kieran, but his brother wasn’t here yet. In the meantime, Louis would try to find all that he could. He couldn’t let anything happen to Mauve, more for his sake than even Jael’s. Jael would come apart. He had lost his family. Louis knew the Primus wouldn’t be able to take it if anything happened to Mauve, and where would that put him then? He didn’t want to think about it.

"I don’t believe you," Mauve suddenly blurted, and Louis laughed.

"Have I ever lied to you?" he asked. When she didn’t buy his question, he added, "Fine. If you still think something is wrong after you see me again, then you can ask all the questions you want, and I’ll answer."

Mauve relaxed her face. "Okay."