Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate
Chapter 115: Chief of Drama

Chapter 115: Chief of Drama

Charna stormed out of Thorin’s office, her cheeks burning red with frustration.

Tears blurred her vision as they streamed down her face, and she broke into a run, desperate to escape before anyone could witness her distress.

But of course, life has a twisted sense of humor, doesn’t it? Just as she quickened her pace, head down, doing everything she could to keep herself hidden, she slammed into someone. And, of course, it had to be her friend.

"Char? What’s going on? Are you crying? Who made you like this?" Morgan asked, concerned. The werewolf’s thin, expressive eyebrows furrowed as she bombarded Charna with questions.

"I’m not crying," Charna croaked, which was exactly what someone who wasn’t crying wouldn’t say.

Morgan wasn’t having it.

Before Charna could pull her classic "I’m fine, leave me alone" move, Morgan grabbed her by the arms and tilted her head up, taking one look at her puffy eyes and snotty nose.

"Oh, you definitely are! Don’t even try to deny it," Morgan said firmly. "Now, spill it. Who did this, and what exactly did they do? Just say the word, and I’ll knock some sense into that fool—furball or not—with a few well-placed punches."

When Charna stayed silent, Helga immediately jumped to the most logical conclusion possible in her drama-fueled brain.

"Was it the Snob? Did she do something to you?" Because, obviously, if something goes wrong, it’s got to be the new, uninvited, and unwelcomed vampire, right?

Morgan, ever the reigning queen of the mean girls, never traveled solo. Flanked by at least two other werewolves at all times, she made sure her central position in the pack was impossible to miss.

It wasn’t just for show either.

They were her personal cheerleaders in the relentless campaign to kick Riona out of Wintertooth—with Vesper’s crew enthusiastically signing up for the same extracurricular.

Charna, despite being associated with this pack of drama queens, didn’t actually share their burning desire for social exile. She wasn’t exactly there for the mean-girl agenda.

It was more like she’d been forcefully adopted by Morgan. Morgan liked her, and that was that—end of discussion.

You didn’t get to pick whether you wanted to be friends; Morgan picked for you.

Not that it was all bad.

Sure, Morgan was a bit quick on the trigger when it came to throwing people—especially those who weren’t werewolves—under the bus, but when you were in her inner circle, she treated you like royalty.

It was like having a guard dog... except one that occasionally wanted to start a bar fight just because someone looked at you funny.

"No!" Charna blurted out, her eyes widening with panic.

The last thing she needed was to toss Riona into even hotter water with the pack—they already despised the vampire enough as it was.

Adding a false accusation to the mix would be like throwing gasoline on an already raging fire.

Sure, Riona technically was the reason Charna was feeling like a wreck, but let’s be honest—it wasn’t the vampire’s fault. Riona had done, well, exactly nothing. Pinning this on her would be like blaming the weather for your bad haircut.

Charna took a deep breath and confessed the real culprit. "It’s Thorin."

She tried to figure out how to explain her disaster of a meeting with Thorin without turning Riona into an even bigger scapegoat.

"It’s official," Charna finally said with a heavy voice. "He’s in love with her. I have no idea how she feels, but honestly, does it even matter? The only thing that matters is where Thorin’s heart is—and it’s definitely not with me."

Morgan gritted her teeth so hard Charna wondered if a dental bill was in her future. "That darn Alpha! Did he actually say that to your face?"

"No," Charna admitted with her shoulders slumped. "But he’s made it painfully clear. Even if, by some miracle, he’s not in love with her—which I’m convinced he is—there’s this wall between us now."

Charna looked down and continued, "It’s like my usefulness has expired. He values my help but that’s all it’s ever been. There was never anything more."

With each word, the truth stung deeper, making it feel more real than ever. She wasn’t even close to ready to let him go.

After all, she’d loved him for years. You don’t just erase that kind of love overnight because someone decides to draw a line.

"He’s got this massive ego just because he’s hot and famous," Morgan ranted. Steam practically came out of her ears.

"Girls are falling all over themselves for him, so he thinks he can treat everyone like trash. I can’t just sit here and let him get away with it. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind!"

Charna quickly grabbed Morgan’s wrist to stop her. "No! Please, don’t! I really don’t need this to get any messier."

"He was the one who made it worse," Morgan shot back, fuming.

Charna wasn’t exactly a saint, so, of course, she was ticked off at Thorin for his cold rejection. He should’ve at least mustered up the courtesy to be nice about it, instead of giving her some half-baked dismissal.

But she knew that dwelling on it wouldn’t help. The last thing she needed was to obsess over the rejection.

What if Thorin ended up looking at her with disgust? Or worse—what if he actually started hating her? That would be a whole new level of soul-crushing.

"I’ll get over it eventually," Charna said, trying to sound like she had it all together. "Besides, wallowing in self-pity isn’t going to help. I’ve got things to do, and I refuse to look like a sobbing mess just because I got rejected."

"What? Like what could possibly be more important than your own shattered feelings?" Morgan shot back.

Charna sighed deeply. "The morning ritual is coming up, and I need to brief the newcomers on the tradition to keep everything running smoothly."

"Are you out of your mind? You’re seriously prioritizing this over your own heartbreak?" Morgan asked, incredulous.

"The Snob is actually joining the morning ritual?" Helga gasped, her shock echoed by the other werewolves who looked like they’d just seen a ghost.

"Yep, that’s Thorin’s call," Charna confirmed. "I need to make sure she’s properly integrated and knows what’s what. It’s part of my job to help with that."

Even though she was simmering with jealousy and heartache, Charna decided to give Riona a break.

She didn’t know the vampire personally and wasn’t about to start passing judgment. After all, that would be like judging a book by its cover—or in this case, a vampire by her reputation.

"Why must you do that?" Morgan growled.

"Uh, because she’s the Chief of Wintertooth?" Helga responded, adding fuel to the fire of Morgan’s irritation.

Rolling her eyes in rage, Morgan snapped, "I know! It was a rhetorical question!"

With Charna back in her role as Chief of Wintertooth, she resumed her duties as the ultimate community manager. Her job was to make sure everyone got along, organize events, and show newcomers the ropes of their new life in Wintertooth.

Which, unfortunately, meant Charna had to guide Riona and Florian around. If only Riona weren’t Thorin’s love interest, Charna would have been more than happy to show her around, vampire or not.

"Alright, that’s enough. You take the time you need to recover, and I’ll handle this mess for you," Morgan offered.

"But—"

"No buts!" Morgan cut her off, waving her hand dismissively. "I’ll take care of everything. You just focus on not falling apart, ’kay?"

"Uh, alright," Charna agreed.

Morgan seized her chance to prove to everyone—especially Thorin—exactly why Riona was so out of place.

And so, that’s how Riona ended up being the only one dressed in white, the traditional color for sacrificial offerings.