The Vampire King's Possession

Chapter 80: 80. Mack Encounter

Mauve looked away as the guards stood their feet and the servants bowed. She heard Jael take the seat two seats away from her, his usual seat but she still refused to look at him. A servant pulled back the chair next to Jael and Lady Jevera immediately sat next to him.

"Sure," they said simultaneously before they took their seats.

Mister Herbert laid out Jael's bowl and a servant did the same for her. She smiled softly at him even though he refused to meet her gaze. She dug into her food immediately, refusing to lift her gaze as she ate even though she could feel his gaze on her. She chewed gently, she wanted to leave the dining hall but she knew if she rushed, she might choke and she wasn't interested in drawing any attention to herself.

"Mauve," she heard him call her but she pretended she didn't hear.

"Mauve," he called again, sternly this time.

"Yes," she said and raised her head but still didn't meet his gaze.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," she replied straightening her back. "But I am sure you sleep so much better than I did."

He raised a brow but didn't reply when she saw he wasn't going to say anything else, she returned to eating her food.

Minutes later, she picked up the napkin and wiped her lips. "Thank you for the meal," she mumbled and stood to her feet. 

"If you will excuse me," she smiled at no one in particular and slipped out the side of her seat.

Mauve walked past Jael, he stretched out his hand and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her to him and she yelped. She stood very close to him surprised that she didn't fall from the tug.

"Are you alright?" He asked peering at her face.

Mauve immediately looked down, it was hard to stare into his eyes. It always felt as if he was looking into her soul. 

She nodded and tried to pull away from his grasp. His eyes darkened but he let her go. She didn't like the way he looked at her, as if she was some nuisance and it was better if she left. Mauve didn't hesitate, she fled out of the dining hall.

She got to her and immediately lay on the bed, she could comprehend how she was feeling but one thing was for sure, whatever was going on between Jael and Lady Jevera, she didn't like it.

She growled as she conjured pictures of him in Lady Jevera's bed. "Was that why he wasn't here?" She asked out loud and rubbed her palm against the bed.

She grabbed her head, she didn't know what to think. The worst part of it all was the fact that if it was true, there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it.

He was the vampire king and she was what? A human wife forced on him. Her father didn't want her so he had immediately given her away, happy to be free of her and what she represented.

She had disillusioned herself that they were like every regular couple. Simply because they sleep on the same bed and have been intimate, used to as she had just been usurped. 'Usurped' wasn't the right word, after all, it was never hers, to begin with.

She was nothing but an intruder perching because she had nowhere else to go. It was stupid of her to think that was something special, not a duty.

She sat upright and ran her hands through her hair, her thoughts were helping her current predicament. She stood to her feet and made her way out of the room.

She went up the stairs but instead of going to the library, she went up the next set of stairs. She wasn't going up, Jael had given her strict orders not to, she just wanted to see if indeed he was getting it ready for her.

One hand gripped her dress while the other held on to the railing for her life. She could feel her heartbeat increasing. The thought that she might get caught actually scared her more than she thought but she didn't want to go back to her room and she rather die than read another book.

The first thing she noticed was that hallway leading to the last set of stairs was lit. She had been worried about light but she planned to tread through the darkness as going back to her room to pick a lamp wasn't an option.

She felt calmer at the lights as there was only one reason why this could be but as soon as she felt at ease, she immediately began to worry at the fact that she wasn't supposed to be there.

She kept walking, however, she was already this far gone either way she could help but feel that she would still be punished for coming this far.

There was also another pathetic reason why she was doing this. She squeezed her eyes shut as she thought of it but she couldn't bear the thought that Jael didn't want her anymore.

To punish her, he would have to come to her. Pathetic, right? Nevertheless, it was the only thing she could think about. She sighed loudly, just when she thought her life was getting remotely better, she was about to be tossed aside again.

She got to the last set of stairs that led to the rooftop. She stopped in front of it and looked up, this was the first time she was seeking the stairs this clearly. 

They looked just like the rest of the stairs in the house except for the door at the top of the stairs. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and then took a step forward, climbing in the first step.

The door at the top of the stairs flew open and Mauve jerked, shrieking in fright. If she didn't have her hand on the railing she was certain she would have fallen on her back.

"Princess?" Mack's voice broke through her fright episode. "What are you doing here?"

The look on his face and the tone of his voice sent goosebumps up her arms.

She immediately stepped down the staircase and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Nothing, I-I…" She paused and cleared her throat as she tried to look for a reasonable excuse but none was coming forth.

"I just wanted to see the work done on the rooftop." She blurted out, there was no point lying, she had already been caught.

His brows dipped, "I am afraid I can't allow that princess. Sire, gave precise orders to not let you up until the clean-up process is complete."

"Oh, I didn't know." Her voice sounded tinier than usual as she lied between her teeth.

"Now, you do." He said sternly. She glanced at Mack and she could tell that he didn't believe her.

"Yes, I do," she chuckled softly but made no attempt to leave. 

"Is there anything else?" Mack questioned.

"No," she said and waved her hands in front.

"Good. As soon as the cleanup is done, I'll inform Mill and she will let you know. Now, if you will get out of the way," he said and took a step down. "I'll get on with my work."

That was when Mauve noticed the items in his hands, huge bags and he was gripping the edges tightly. She wondered what could be in them but she knew better than to ask. 

There was no need to further piss him off especially when he didn't like her. Howbeit, it was easy for her to guess that they were trash from cleaning. She smiled despite the situation she was in.

"Of course," she rushed out. "Thank you, I will let you get on with it."

The words were barely out of her mouth when she fled. She walked briskly as she tried to get away fast. She glanced back to see where he was as she couldn't hear any sound and nearly died of a heart attack when she saw he was directly behind her.

Mauve brought one hand to her chest and immediately increased her pace. She looked back again after a while and saw that he was still behind her. He didn't do anything or say anything but the fact that he was constantly behind her made her very uneasy. 

Mauve almost cried in relief when she saw the doors of the library. She slipped in without hesitation and closed the door. She was not being chased but Mack constantly being behind her made her feel like that. He gave her the creeps.

She let out the breath she was not aware of holding when she saw that the library doors weren't opening. She knew he just happened to be going in the same direction as she was but the fact that he refused to put any space between them was a lot unnerving.

Even if he wanted to make sure she was not going to go back up that was a little too much. She slid to the ground as she waited for her breath to return to normal.