The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 706. Flowers and Sunshine

Chapter 706: 706. Flowers and Sunshine

Mauve felt her eyes water. Hearing Alaric speak those words brought her to tears—it was certainly what she wanted to hear. She took a deep breath, making sure she was calm and that there was no sign she was on the verge of tears before she slowly turned around.

Alaric was still holding onto his mate, but he looked a little taller and was standing more to the front, unlike when he would usually hang back. His overgrown hair was slightly parted, and for the first time, Mauve got a proper look at his face. He was a beautiful man—that was the only way she could describe him. His green eyes shone brighter than any gemstone she had ever seen, and his jawline was sharp. He had soft features and small, full lips.

Mauve met his eyes, but he could only hold her gaze briefly before his eyes lowered and he slouched again. It was clear how much effort it had taken him to speak all that. Mauve nodded and said, "Thank you so much, Lord Alaric. Hearing that means a lot to me, and I appreciate your assurance." She glanced at Lady Marceline.

Lady Marceline shuffled on her feet and then opened her mouth. "As Jael’s aunt, I have failed you. You shouldn’t go through this, and you are right—I haven’t shown my loyalty enough. Regardless of how it may look, my nephew is very important to me. He is the only thing left of his mother, and he has chosen you. Not once have I ever had a problem with that. Telling you that you wouldn’t last wasn’t out of spite. I was doing you a favor."

Mauve couldn’t help it; she scoffed, and Lady Marceline’s brows knitted together. "That wasn’t a favor. If you ask me, I’d say you were trying to scare me."

"Yes," she admitted, "because the vampire regions aren’t exactly flowers and sunshine. It’s no place for a human. These bloodsuckers would want nothing more than to rip your skin off. Not all of them, but one too many. However, you have proved me wrong, and you are indeed stronger than you look. You are fit to be the Primus’ mate."

Mauve looked stunned. She shouldn’t care for Lady Marceline’s approval, but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t feel nice. She nodded, curtsied, and then slowly walked into her room without another word.

Mauve rested her back against the door as she tried to gather her thoughts and compose herself. She couldn’t help but jerk in shock when a knock rang out. "Who is it?" she asked, irritation lacing her tone. She truly would rather not be bothered right now.

"Sabrina, my lady."

Mauve’s eyes narrowed, but then she remembered the time Sabrina had stood against her father for her, and her face relaxed. She moved her hand to the door and opened it. No sooner was the door opened that Sabrina rushed in and gathered Mauve into her arms. Mauve pushed the door closed and returned the vampire’s hug.

"I am sorry we let something like that happen to you. We truly underestimated Seraphino’s craziness. Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked.

"No, I am fine," Mauve replied mechanically.

"I can’t believe Jael let him go just like that."

Sabrina wanted to have a conversation about it, but Mauve didn’t want to hear it—she truly wasn’t in the mood. "It is unfortunate, but I guess that’s how things are."

Sabrina pulled away to look at Mauve’s face. "No! Things shouldn’t be like that. Are you okay?"

"I am. If you’re aware, it’s not the first time." If she had a coin for the number of times she had said this today.

"That venomous snake got away with doing something like this twice. I am sorry; I am sure it must have been awful."

"It was," Mauve said with a sad look on her face.

"I will speak to my father. I know he’s being stubborn about accepting you as the Primus’ mate, but I am sure there is no way he would stand for something like this. I will have to talk about it in the meeting—Seraphino can’t be allowed to do something like this anymore. No one should be allowed to."

"Thank you, Sabrina, and I am really glad for your efforts, but I’d really like to be alone this time."

Sabrina nodded. "I understand, and I am sorry to bother you, but I just had to come to see you."

Mauve smiled politely at the vampire as she left the room. She walked to her bed but didn’t immediately throw herself on it as she usually would. Instead, she looked hard at it, replaying the scene in her head.

It was still very scary, and she wanted nothing more than to flee from the room, but all she had done so far was cower. Seraphino was starting to look like a ditch that she couldn’t cross, and with every second she wasted, the bigger it got.

She shut her eyes and threw herself onto the bed. She stiffened, forcing herself not to think about it. It took a while, but she eventually relaxed. Seraphino was out of the castle, and she would make sure it remained so.

Mauve was both physically and mentally tired. However, she couldn’t sleep—not that she had any plans to. She just wanted to give herself some time before she faced Jael.

Mauve rolled to her feet. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but it was unimportant. Right now, she wanted to see Jael. At first, she had thought of sending a servant to fetch him but decided against it. There were only two places he could be right now—outside or in his study.

Mauve didn’t go out her room door; she went through the connecting door. His room was empty, as she had expected, so she walked to the exit. Her eyes didn’t linger on anything. When she came out of his room, the guard in front of her door looked like he might have a heart attack.

He rushed after her and Mauve didn’t stop him. She got to Jael’s study and knocked twice before opening the door. Jael was already out from behind his desk and standing right in front of her.

"Might I have a word, Your Highness?" she asked.