The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 768. Simply a Lunatic

Chapter 768: 768. Simply a Lunatic

Mauve could tell instantly that something was wrong. Maybe it was the slight glow in Jael’s eyes or the way his palms were curled into fists, but as soon as he walked through the doors, she knew something was terribly wrong.

"What happened?" she asked and started to get out of the bed.

Jael raised his hand to stop her. "I will come to you," he said.

Mauve nodded and remained seated on the bed as she watched him cross the room to her. He sat on the bed with her, a solemn look on his face, then suddenly, he grabbed her and held her close.

"Jael," Mauve called, a little panicky. "What’s going on?"

"I just want to give you a hug," he said, resting his chin in the cradle of her neck.

Mauve turned her head slightly to the side. "Something did happen," she said in horror. "What is it?"

He lifted his eyes to meet hers, and Mauve moved her hand to smooth out the folds on his forehead.

"I am fine, I promise." She grinned at him. "You don’t have to look so worried. Now, what in the world happened?"

"You were poisoned," he said and buried his head on her shoulder.

"What?" Mauve asked in horror. "I don’t think so. I would know if I got poisoned," she giggled, trying to make light of it.

Jael shook his head and lifted the hand of the shoulder he rested his head on, tracing the white patches he could see. "This happened because you were poisoned."

"What?" Mauve asked. "But this is a rare disease in Greenham. My mother had it. There is no way it came from poisoning."

"I don’t know the full details of it yet, but I promise you, I will get to the root of the matter. For now, the facts we have are that Seraphino poisoned you and gave you the white disease. Corbin said he created it."

Mauve closed her eyes as she tried to process the information that Jael just told her. "What do you mean, created it?" she asked as she opened her eyes.

Jael held her tighter. "I don’t know the details."

"I see," Mauve said softly, but her mind couldn’t help but spin. If she understood correctly, it meant Seraphino was the cause of her mother’s death, Vae’s mother’s death, and the deaths of other citizens of Greenham. They had to go through all that hardship because of a vampire.

"Are you okay?" Jael asked.

Of course, she wasn’t, but Mauve didn’t say that. "Why?" she simply asked. "Why would anyone do that?"

"I don’t know, but I do know Seraphino was planning to do even more horrid things, but this will be the last time."

"I still don’t get why. Does he hate humans that much? Does he hate me that much?"

Jael lifted his head from her shoulder and met her eyes with a frown on his face. "It’s not your place to try to make sense of his actions. Nothing he has ever done has made sense. He is nothing more than a lunatic."

Mauve nodded and looked away. She was grateful things had turned out differently. She could have died without ever finding out that a wretched vampire was the reason why, and it was neither her mother nor Vae who had given the disease to her.

"How does Corbin know all this, and why didn’t he say anything beforehand?" Mauve asked.

Jael touched his hair. "That’s another complicated story, and"—his eyes glowed briefly—"I will make sure father and son don’t get away with this."

"What do you mean?"

"The reason Seraphino was successful in poisoning you was because of Corbin and his father. Corbin overheard you needing a drink, and the wrong one was sent instead."

Mauve frowned. She couldn’t recall drinking something she wasn’t supposed to. However, it was unimportant—she had been able to heal from it. The problem was, what if she had been pregnant at the time? Would she have recovered? It could have gone horribly wrong, and she might not have been the only one who could have ended up dead.

Mauve could feel a visceral anger burning within her. She didn’t think she had ever felt so violently toward a person before now. How could one be so cruel? She covered her face with her palms.

"Once again, I have failed to protect you."

Mauve lifted her head so quickly that she almost bumped the back of her head against Jael. "What are you talking about? This is not your fault. Just a very strange vampire dedicating himself to making humans miserable. You said it yourself—he is simply a lunatic, nothing more, nothing less."

"That will be taken care of very soon. How dare he try to take you from me? He told Corbin to find a way to kidnap you. My pregnant mate—he must be out of his mind." He had let the vermin roam untethered and had excused too many of his behaviors. That was about to change. He did say that the next time Seraphino went after Mauve, he would make sure Seraphino regretted that decision.

Mauve smiled. "I like the sound of that. My pregnant mate," she giggled. "I am pregnant, and I am your mate."

"Yes, you are," Jael said and gently kissed the side of her neck. "You don’t have to fear or worry. I will take care of everything."

"I know," Mauve said, leaning into the kiss. "But I’ll also help in any way I can."

"Hmm," Jael said and moved to her earlobe. "There is no need for that. You’re already busy growing our child. That is hard work already, you know. No need to stress your body any more than it already is."

"Jael," Mauve cried and moved her head. "That tickles."

Jael’s expression suddenly changed, and he pulled away from her. "I will be right back," he said with a smile and got out of bed.

Mauve nodded, and Jael walked toward the door. He opened it and closed it almost immediately, but not before she saw Louis standing outside.

"Sire," Louis said with a bow. "You didn’t even wait for me to knock."

"How soon can you move out?" Jael asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"Right now! I simply came to inform you that preparations have been made, and I can leave now."

"And the guards?" Jael asked.

"More than enough. There is also the written declaration. If that isn’t enough, we have more than enough guards to drag him out of his estate. However, he would know better than to start a war."

"Don’t underestimate him. He doesn’t mind losing everything for this. I have been lenient, haven’t I, Louis?"

"No, Sire."

"Well, that just makes one of us. Now bring that bastard here, even if you have to drag him here."

"You can count on me," Louis said and lifted his head.

Jael raised a brow and then smiled. He still found Louis annoying, but he knew there was no one better to do this than him. "Go on then, and if he slips out of your fingers, you better not come back."

Louis sneered. "I’d like to see him try. As long as the pathetic duo keep their lips shut, we should be able to catch him off guard."

"They know better than to piss me off further," Jael said and slipped back into the room.