The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 709. Sway Them

Chapter 709: 709. Sway Them

"Unacceptable. Marked or not, no Primus mate will be a human." Lord Phelan’s comments received nods and murmurs of approval throughout the hall.

Mauve’s eyes scanned the space, pausing when she met eyes with Kieran. She didn’t even know he was back; he had not been at the dining hall for the second meal. She smiled at him, and he returned it with a nod. Seated next to him on his right was Sabrina and her family, while to his left was Louis.

Someone else stood up after Lord Phelan was done with his speech and practically repeated the same thing Lord Phelan had just said, and echoes of approval ran through the hall once again. Mauve could feel an ache start in her head. This was going to take quite some time.

After all the lords who had grievances about Mauve being the Primus’ mate stated their similar issues, all declining and refusing to accept that the Primus’ mate was a human, Louis stood up to speak. However, before he could even get a word out, someone interrupted.

"Why would we listen to you when you haven’t been in the Vampire Regions in almost half a century? You have no idea how things are here."

"Yes, that’s right," Lord Phelan added.

"Yes," another agreed.

Despite the remark, Louis remained composed. "Whether or not you want to listen doesn’t in the slightest change what I am about to say, and to say one lord’s opinion matters less is silly. Haven’t we listened to you all speak, though futile? We let you complain regardless."

"What do you mean by futile?" Lord Phelan rose to his feet, his face hardened with anger.

"The Primus already marked her," Sabrina interjected. "It is futile. It is clear she is his mate, we all can see and sense the mark; nothing can change that."

"No, it is not futile. The lords are a major part of how the vampire regions run. We won’t allow a mere human to be above us! Unacceptable," Lord Phelan repeated vehemently.

Jael’s grip tightened on Mauve’s hands, but he didn’t say anything, and all Mauve could do was look at the commotion rising in the hall. A few of the lords had yet to speak, and that included Lady Marceline and her mate, Lady Francine, Lord Garth, his mate, and the Levatons. These lords and ladies didn’t look like they planned to say anything except watch the show unfold.

"Enough!" Jael’s voice cut through the din like a blade, silencing the room instantly. His grip on Mauve’s hand loosened, and he stood, his imposing figure casting a shadow over the seated lords and ladies.

The hall seemed to shrink under his commanding presence, and the murmurs of protest died on trembling lips. Lord Phelan faltered for a moment, his indignation flickering under Jael’s piercing gaze, but he quickly straightened, unwilling to back down.

Jael’s tone was low, almost deceptively calm. "You speak of what is ’unacceptable.’ If it was truly unacceptable, I wouldn’t have been able to mark her in the first place. Let me remind you, Lord Phelan, that your role here is advisory, not authoritative."

"You cannot expect us to accept this—this human—as your mate, Primus!" Lord Phelan shot back, his voice quaking with rage. "It undermines centuries of tradition and hierarchy."

"Oh, shut it! How far has that gotten us? This is my mate. However long it takes you all to accept it is truly none of my business."

Gasps echoed through the hall, and whispers soon followed. Mauve twisted her fingers. It felt like the lords were even more against her now. Would they ever make progress? At this point, they might as well be forcing her down the throats of the lords.

She didn’t want to be accepted that badly by the lot of them, but she didn’t want Jael’s ties to the throne to be questioned. There had to be some way for this to end in a good way for everyone.

It was clear that the major contenders were Lord Phelan and Lord Drusile, and these were the ones who hadn’t been around during Seraphino’s attack. There had to be some way to sway them or at least make them stop putting up this much of a fight.

One of the important pillars needed to speak, but neither Lord Garth nor Lord Levaton looked like they intended to do that. Mauve was at a loss. As much as she would like to speak, she doubted this was a good time. She would just make the situation even more tense.

Lord Phelan slammed his palms against his table, silencing most of the hall. "First, you made us give up the humans we once owned. We drink blood from bags like animals, and now we have a human for the Primus’ mate. What else? Are you going to ask us to be slaves to humans?"

"That’s ridiculous, Lord Phelan," Louis said. "The Primus has never insinuated anything like that."

"Really? Then what’s that?" He pointed to Mauve, his voice laced with disgust. "This is exactly how it starts. We should have known he was in cahoots with humans from the very moment he took the throne. All our Primus has done is pander to the humans."

"Lord Phelan, another wrong word, and I can’t promise you won’t face consequences."

"Trying to shut me up instead of providing proper explanations," Lord Phelan mumbled under his breath as he dropped to his seat.

Jael sighed and glanced at Mauve, then slowly started to walk out of his seat, but she grabbed his hand and stood to her feet. Jael frowned, but she simply nodded, and he walked out with her in his hands. Standing by Jael’s side with the lords staring hard at them made Mauve uneasy, but this was exactly what she wanted, and wouldn’t want this to go any differently.

"It is a little sad that my loyalty is still questioned after all this time, and I know Lord Phelan doesn’t speak alone. He speaks the mind of most of you."

Jael’s eyes scanned the crowd, noting a few lords nodded. Jael didn’t care about the outcome of this meeting, but he could clearly see Mauve’s worries. She wanted this to end amicably.

He could say the right things and give the lords what they wanted. For Mauve, for her safety, he would set aside his pride and address the lords on their terms.