The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 693. Altercation

Chapter 693: 693. Altercation

Mauve watched Louis walk out the doors of the library. She flinched a little as the huge doors closed, though expecting it, the loud sound still shocked her. She felt she should have pressed Louis further, but she knew the vampire could be just as stubborn as Jael, and if he had no intention of telling her what was wrong, he wouldn’t.

She groaned; she was overwhelmed by everything. Slowly standing, she picked up the scattered spellbooks to return them to their respective shelves. This was usually Louis’ job; the fact that he had delegated it to her was slightly concerning.

She wanted to learn as much and as fast as she could, but she would never go behind Louis’ back. Accidents could happen, and she wasn’t stupid enough to risk her life or the chance of them getting caught.

After putting the books in their respective places, she left the library. There was some time before the second meal and Jael would be back by then. For now, she would spend the rest of her time crocheting. She was still very terrible at this. Making something else was completely different from making a scarf, she would need Yasmin’s help.

Danag did say he would get her the information she needed but she said it would be better after the announcement had been made. He thought it over and decided to wait also, which was great, as Mauve didn’t think she could handle any more.

She had already written a letter to Vae expressing her condolences. She had not received a response in return, but it wasn’t surprising. She was sure this was a tough time for Vae, and she was willing to wait for a response as long as it would take.

Mauve didn’t see him in time; she was so engrossed in her thoughts that bumping into him was the only thing that snapped her out of it. Mauve grabbed her forehead—it had made contact with his chin, and it hurt. "I am so sorry," she started to say. "I was..." Mauve’s words froze in her throat as she looked up and saw who it was.

Lord Garth was looming over her, his nose flared in anger and irritation and Mauve would have sworn she saw steaming leaking out the top of his head. He looked ready to explode; his anger made his face slightly red. Mauve had never seen a vampire with this much color before. Lord Garth’s hand moved, and Mauve shut her eyes, bracing herself for the hit she could sense was coming.

"Father!" Sabrina yelled, and Mauve opened her eyes. "Have you gone crazy?"

They were at the foot of the stairs on her floor, while Sabrina was rapidly coming up the stairs from the ground floor. Her eyes were wide, and horror showed on her features. She rushed toward them, placing herself between her father and Mauve.

Lord Garth dropped his hand to his side. "Have you lost your mind? How dare you speak to your father like that?"

"I apologize, Father. I was just shocked. Whatever Mauve has done, I apologize. Surely, it doesn’t warrant raising your hand to her. You’ve never even hit me before, why—"

"Silence!" Lord Garth’s voice was a whip-crack, his glare daggers. "Who said I was going to hit her?"

Mauve flinched, crouching low as she hid behind Sabrina. "I misunderstood. Forgive me, Father."

Lord Garth didn’t look the least bit satisfied with his daughter’s apology. The altercation had drawn attention; servants stopped what they were doing to stare, and guards turned their attention to them. But it wasn’t all this that deterred Lord Garth—it was the Primus’ voice.

"What is going on here?" He was still far away, in front of the study, but his thunderous voice carried through the floor, reaching them.

Mauve’s heart plummeted to her stomach just as the servants and guards dispersed. The situation was getting even worse. She had hoped Sabrina would have been able to calm her father without drawing Jael’s attention. Her head spun as she tried to come up with a tale that Jael would find satisfactory.

A flicker of an unreadable expression passed over Lord Garth’s face before he turned stiffly, giving a formal bow. "Sire," he greeted.

Jael’s strides were brisk, and within moments, he reached them. "I asked, what is going on here?"

Mauve stepped out quickly from behind Sabrina. "It’s my fault," she said and rushed to Jael. "I was distracted with my thoughts, and I bumped into Lord Garth." Without giving Jael a chance to reply, she turned to the Lord. "I am sorry, Lord Garth."

The Lord’s expression darkened, but he knew he couldn’t make any more fuss, especially if word got out that he had almost struck the human. "Very well," he said stiffly and started walking away.

Jael wasn’t convinced, but he couldn’t say anything as Mauve was beaming at him. "Did I interrupt your work?"

"No, you could never. Are you sure everything is alright?"

"Yeah, I was just startled." She laughed again. "Thank you, Sabrina," she said and started pulling Jael away.

"Anytime, my lady."

Jael locked Sabrina with a death stare, and the blond vampire froze, a chill crawling up her back. It was clear the Primus was not buying the situation, but he was willing to let it go. He slowly turned his head and let Mauve pull him away.

Mauve could not help the sigh that escaped her lips. She could still feel her heart pounding and prayed that Jael couldn’t hear it. She was glad Jael wasn’t asking more questions and was just coming with her.

"Are you going back to your study?" she asked as she tried to make conversation, the air was too tense.

"No," he said.

"Oh," she said. "I was going to ask Yasmin to show me a few things. I am still crocheting, so you don’t have to get off work because of me."

Mauve was rambling, but what else would she do when Jael wasn’t speaking much? She could feel his gaze glued to the back of her head as if he wanted to see what was going through it.

"You!" He pointed to a nearby guard. "Fetch Yasmin."

The guard was a little shocked, then he quickly bowed and fled.

"Were you alone when you left the library?" Jael asked.

"No," she shook her head. "The guard you placed in front of the library accompanied me." Though he was some feet away, he wasn’t close enough to stop her from bumping into Lord Garth.

"Where was Louis?" he asked darkly.