The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 716. The Taste of Blood

Chapter 716: 716. The Taste of Blood

"We are all gathered here to witness the Primus and his mate..." Kieran addressed the crowd.

Mauve glanced at them but not for too long. She didn’t care for the lords and ladies gathered here to see them; all she cared about was Jael. He was the only one that mattered. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, making Mauve feel butterflies in her stomach.

After addressing the crowd, Kieran turned to Jael and began to speak in the old tongue. She frowned a little but wasn’t confused. It made sense that they would do the ceremony in the old tongue. It was just too bad she couldn’t understand what he was saying, but since Jael was nodding along, it had to be something good.

"Yes," Jael replied at the end of Kieran’s words.

Kieran then turned to her, and when he was done, she also replied, "Yes."

Kieran spoke some more in the old tongue, then stretched out his hand to the side, and a servant stepped forward with empty cups. Mauve didn’t know they were empty at first until Jael started shaking his head and almost smacked the cups away.

The crowd gasped while Mauve was at a loss as to what was happening. She looked from Kieran to Jael, waiting for some explanation. When none came, she had no choice but to ask.

"What’s going on?" she asked.

"Jael doesn’t want to exchange blood," Louis whispered.

Mauve was shocked to hear his voice. She hadn’t even noticed when he got close enough. She glanced at Jael, who shook his head.

"Why not?" she asked.

"You’re not a vampire," he mumbled.

"But this is an important part of the ceremony," she whispered.

Voices from the congregation were slowly reaching her ears. Mauve knew she didn’t have much time to get things back in order before the wedding was ruined.

"It is," Kieran admitted. "It’s the most important part."

"Why would you refuse?" Mauve asked in horror.

"We don’t know what kind of effect drinking my blood would have on you," Jael replied with a stubborn look on his face.

"I don’t mind finding out," she whispered.

"I do. I’m not going to put you at risk again."

"This is not the time to be stubborn," Mauve whispered. It wasn’t like she was eager to drink blood, let alone vampire blood, but she wasn’t about to give the vampires a reason to claim their ceremony wasn’t proper. She knew someone was likely to bring it up.

"It is."

"Jael, there will be no point in doing this if we don’t do it right."

"What if you get sick again?" His face held worry and fear.

"I’ll get better. I always do."

"Jael, I have never seen any case of vampire blood affecting humans negatively unless the blood has been tampered with," Kieran said.

"Are you sure?" Jael asked.

"Yes," Kieran assured him.

Jael slowly nodded, and Mauve sighed in relief. The murmuring died down as Jael accepted the knife Kieran handed to him. Louis held the cup underneath his wrist, and Jael slit it open, dripping blood into the cup.

It was hard for Mauve not to show a reaction. She wondered if she would have to do something as dramatic as that. It looked dangerous and might take too long to heal. The blood didn’t drip for long before the wound started to close. Mauve looked up at Jael with fear in her eyes. She glanced at the knife, then back at Jael.

He took her wrist, and Mauve’s heart accelerated. He brought the knife closer, and Mauve immediately felt queasy but held her ground. It would just be a little tear. She would make sure not to faint. She shut her eyes tightly, but it didn’t stop the slash sound from reaching her ears. Mauve frowned—there was no pain.

She opened her eyes to see that Jael had just sliced her glove. She looked up at him, and he smiled. "There’s no rule that says I have to use the knife."

He brought her wrist to his lips. With speed and precision, Jael dug two holes into her skin with his fangs. Mauve didn’t even get a chance to feel the pain. He immediately turned her hand upside down, pressing on her wrist, and Mauve watched her blood drip out in a steady stream.

When a decent amount filled the cup, Jael brought her wrist back to his lips and licked it until it stopped bleeding. Still not satisfied, he ripped the end of his coat and wrapped it around her wrist. Mauve’s head spun, but it was expected; she had just lost some blood.

"Ready?" he asked, handing her his blood in a cup.

Mauve glanced down at the liquid. It was almost black. She didn’t think she had ever seen a vampire’s blood in the right light. Was she sure she wanted to drink this?

"You don’t have to force your—"

"I’m ready," she cut in.

Jael nodded, holding her cup of blood in his hand. He interlocked their hands, and Kieran began to speak more in the old tongue. Mauve shivered. She couldn’t help it; the metallic smell of blood tickled her nose.

"You may drink," Kieran announced.

Mauve tried not to scrunch her nose as she brought the cup to her lips. She threw back her head and took the blood down in one gulp. Surprisingly, it slid down easily. The taste was strange. She wouldn’t call it unpleasant, but it was definitely not something she was willing to drink again.

Mauve jerked as a loud sound echoed through the room. She turned to see the lords and ladies on their feet, clapping. If she regretted drinking the blood before, all that regret was stripped away. This was clearly a huge part of vampire tradition.

"Are you good?" Jael asked as he pulled the cup away from her hand.

Mauve nodded. As much as she would rather hurl her insides out, that was completely out of the question. The cups were taken away, and Kieran continued in the old tongue. Mauve found she couldn’t get the taste of blood out of her mouth.