The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 695. Louis Appears

Chapter 695: 695. Louis Appears

"Yasmin," Mauve smiled as she sat on the bed. The candle in her room had burned about halfway, having been left lit since she left the room.

Yasmin hurried forward and curtsied, "M-my lady."

Mauve didn’t miss how the maid’s voice shook when she addressed Mauve. This was pretty common. Mauve didn’t blame her; Yasmin had always attended to Jevera and was considered her personal maid. She must feel a certain way knowing she would now have to refer to Mauve with this title.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Mauve said, wincing at the end of her words as Danag’s warning echoed in her head, though she quickly pushed it aside.

"It’s no problem, m-my lady. What do you need?"

"I would like you to teach me..." She paused and gestured to the bed. She had already spread out the things she would need. Different colors of yarn balls lay across the bed along with Mauve’s terrible attempt at a sock.

"Is that a mitten?" Yasmin asked as she moved closer.

Mauve shut her eyes in embarrassment. At least the maid was pretty close; she would take that as a good sign.

"A sock," she replied, peeking at Yasmin’s expression.

The maid didn’t show any disapproval, she simply commented, "Oh, it looks very small."

"Yes, I thought it would be better if I started small," Mauve lied with a practiced response. "What do you think?" There was no way she could tell the maid she was trying to make clothes for the baby she was expecting, she knew the uproar that would arise. Mauve was relieved when Yasmin accepted her explanation.

Yasmin picked it up and stared at it. "This is very good, m-my lady. The only problem is the way you’ve started—it will only grow wider the more you knit. The goal is to make it tighter towards the end."

Mauve nodded. Too bad Yasmin would never get used to calling her by her new title, but at least she could offer good instructions. Yasmin picked up the needle and began showing Mauve the proper way to do it. Mauve nodded as she watched closely, her eyes never straying from Yasmin’s hands.

Suddenly, a light knock drew their attention to the door, and Mauve froze as she wondered who was at the door, she was still agitated from the earlier incident. It wasn’t until the second knock that she snapped out of it. "Come in," she mumbled, her voice unsteady.

The door pushed open, and Louis poked his head inside. "Hello, ladies," he said, walking in.

"Louis," Mauve cried, standing to her feet.

"My Lord," Yasmin curtsied.

"Yasmin, excuse us for a moment."

"Yes, my Lord," Yasmin said and fled the room before Mauve could ask why.

"You shouldn’t be here. I thought you were resting." As she spoke, Mauve studied him. The bags were still under his eyes, but they were not as prominent as before. He did look better.

"I was, but..." He paused, staring hard at her face. "I was told something happened."

"Oh, they shouldn’t have bothered you with that," Mauve laughed and looked away from him. She dropped to the bed, picking up the yarn to distract herself. "Jael already took care of it."

"What happened?"

"Oh, nothing serious. You don’t have to worry. You can go back to resting now."

Louis looked like he wanted to say more, but instead, all he said was, "Very well."

"Thank you for checking on me, but you really shouldn’t have bothered yourself. Still, you have my thanks."

Louis knew something had happened. He had heard a vague summary from a servant Jael had sent to get him, and Mauve’s reaction to his questions confirmed his suspicions. She was unnecessarily thankful even though he had done absolutely nothing. The only other person he could speak to about the matter was Jael. He didn’t like this, but he knew Jael might be more forthcoming since it involved Mauve.

"I’ll leave you to it," he said, gesturing to the balls of yarn on the bed. Mauve smiled at him and waved him out. He heard her sigh just before he shut the door.

*****

"Of all the Lords, I considered your fealty to me the strongest. But right now, I fear you’re no better than the Lords who want me off the throne," Jael said.

Lord Garth stood to his feet. "This Lord has heard the words of the Primus. Is there anything else?"

Jael smiled, noting that the Lord didn’t disagree with his last statement. "Lord Garth, we both know you’d rather not have me as an enemy. Whatever this is about, you’d best put it behind you."

"Sire, never in the history of vampires have we ever had a human mate. You won’t change my mind."

"That’s unfortunate, Lord Garth. I had really hoped I would have your backing on this, but I should have known better than to expect someone who hasn’t marked their mate in over a century to understand."

Lord Garth’s palms curled, and his face hardened while Jael smirked, as if daring the Lord. Anger, hatred, and something else passed across the Lord’s face. He opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened.

Jael frowned. He had known Louis was coming but hadn’t expected him to just burst into the study. This action snapped Lord Garth out of his turmoil of emotion, and his face relaxed.

Jael’s frown deepened. He had brought up the topic of Lord Garth unmarked mate because he wanted to know how deep the roots of Lord Garth’s refusal ran, to determine if he truly needed to worry about the Lord cahooting with his enemies. But Louis had robbed him of that opportunity.

"Lord Garth," Louis said brightly, striding toward them. "I apologize for the intrusion. I thought Jael was alone."

"I was just leaving," Lord Garth replied, standing.

"No," Louis said, pushing him back down. "Don’t leave on my account. I’m sure whatever you two are discussing is definitely more important than anything I may have to say. I know the Primus is terrible at saying a lot of things, but he appreciates your help more than he shows. I shall take my leave now—"

"There is no need for that," Lord Garth said and stood up. He didn’t bow to Jael as he left.

"Have you lost your mind?" Jael asked as the door shut.

Louis forced his gaze away from the door. "Did something happen?" he asked as he sat down. "I was in the middle of my nap when a servant interrupted, saying you require my presence urgently. What happened while I was asleep? It isn’t every day you want my presence, let alone urgently."