Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate
Chapter 199: Too Loud, Too Quiet

Chapter 199: Too Loud, Too Quiet

Riona went pale.

No. No. No. This can’t be happening.

She wanted to move away from her friend, but her body wouldn’t budge. She was frozen in place. A thousand words swirled in her mind, but none came out.

She wanted to shake Trudy’s still body, to call her name over and over until she opened her eyes. But her voice was stuck, and her tongue wouldn’t move.

Charna was in tears, sprinting toward Trudy, her voice sharp and frantic. She was shouting something—almost screaming at Riona—but the words were lost.

For Riona, the world had gone silent. All she could hear was the pounding of her own heartbeat.

In the distance, Zane stood frozen, his mouth slightly open in shock. His brow furrowed as he began moving. But he wasn’t coming for Riona—his eyes were fixed on Trudy.

More Wintertooth werewolves rushed in, surrounding them, and Riona was shoved back. She felt herself being jostled, her arms flailing as the crowd pushed her farther away from her friend.

Desperately, she reached out, her fingers stretching toward Trudy’s lifeless body, but the distance between them only grew.

Her chest tightened, a crushing weight pressing down as if a heavy stone were lodged there. Everything moved in slow motion as the crowd formed a protective circle around Trudy.

’Is she okay?’

’We need to get her to safety—treat her wounds!’

’Check if she’s breathing!’

Those were the words echoing in Riona’s mind, the ones she wanted to scream. But her throat felt locked, her voice buried deep inside.

Even as the Zachs’s knights arrived to help Barmin’s forces secure the area, Riona stood paralyzed, her silence louder than the chaos around her.

Riona was still trembling. Her mind was a foggy mess. She couldn’t think—she couldn’t even begin to try. Her vision was blurry, and for a moment, she didn’t realize why.

Then, out of nowhere, someone grabbed her by the waist. Strong arms lifted her small frame with ease, pulling her up and away like she weighed nothing compared to the towering werewolves around her.

Suddenly, she was airborne. The world around her blurred as she was whisked away too quickly to process what was happening.

For a fleeting second, she noticed tiny droplets suspended in the air. Her tears.

It struck her—they were her tears, catching the light for just a millisecond before falling. They were the reason her vision was so hazy. She’d been crying and hadn’t even realized it.

As the Zachs’s soldiers carried her off, the Wintertooth pack was left behind. Barmin hesitated as he passed by them, his expression hard, as if debating whether to deliver punishment. But after a tense moment, he moved on without a word.

In the chaos, Riona caught a glimpse of Zane and Charna breaking through the crowd of werewolves. Their eyes locked with hers for a brief moment. They weren’t speaking, but their gazes seemed heavy with something—a question? A plea? She couldn’t tell.

But the distance between them grew. Her friends became smaller, swallowed by the mass of bodies, until they disappeared entirely. Riona’s chest tightened as her mind spiraled, filling the void with wild, unspoken fears.

Riona was carried the entire way to Zacharia Castle, limp and unresisting. She was too stunned to fight back, her mind trapped in a whirlwind of dark, spiraling thoughts.

This is my fault, isn’t it? It has to be. My power exploded again. I knew I couldn’t control it properly. Her chest tightened as her thoughts raced. Wait... I didn’t release that much power. Did I? But the carriage still exploded.

In the past, such an explosion would have been typical for her. Riona was infamous for her destructive outbursts, and she knew it better than anyone.

But this time had been different—smaller, milder. She hadn’t even fainted like she usually did after losing control. And yet, the damage was done.

Trudy got hurt because of me. Even if it was small, I caused it.

What Riona didn’t know, what she hadn’t seen, was the full extent of what had happened. She hadn’t witnessed Barmin’s brutal attack, his hand tearing into Trudy’s stomach. She hadn’t seen Trudy’s head strike the carriage edge as she fell.

I have no right to defend myself. It’s my fault. It’s always my fault.

The words echoed relentlessly in her mind, her guilt swelling with every beat of her heart.

Sir Orlo was right, she thought bitterly. I should have learned to control my power before it hurt someone I cared about.

Once guilt crept in, it wouldn’t stop. It kept on and became even bigger and stretched out as far as it could be.

I shouldn’t have come to Wintertooth. I shouldn’t have taken Thorin’s hands. My only motive to come is selfish, and that’s why I kept ruining things. Now even my brother, the one I’ve done everything for, changed into a stranger.

The army marched steadily along the road, a narrow path leading to a secluded castle surrounded by tall trees. They stopped before a towering gate adorned with the crest of the Zacharia clan—a shield with rounded edges.

At the sight of the approaching force, the guards moved swiftly to open the gate, having clearly anticipated their arrival.

"She’s been waiting," an old man in a nice and expensive-looking suit said as he stepped forward to greet them. His gaze lingered on Riona, slung over a knight’s shoulder like a lifeless doll. With a subtle motion of his chin, he added, "...for her."

They trudged down the hallway, the sound of their footsteps reverberating off the walls. In truth, it was only Sir Leon and the soldiers whose boots clattered against the stone, but in Riona’s mind, the noise was deafening.

Her thoughts swirled in an endless loop, scolding, berating, and blaming her for everything that had gone wrong.

This is all my fault. Everything is my fault. Maybe even being born was a mistake. Maybe... if I hadn’t existed, my parents would still be alive.

The relentless cacophony in her head only quieted when the knight finally set her down. Riona’s knees wobbled as she stood, now face-to-face with a striking woman seated on a throne.

The woman radiated power, lounging with one leg crossed over the other.

The werewolf queen was enormous, like all werewolves. Her dark hair flowed down her back in soft waves, adding to her masculine elegance. Her sharp, cat-like eyes made her look fierce and intimidating, while her strong, defined jaw gave her an air of authority and strength.

Her crimson, glittering pants caught the light, shimmering like blood in the sun. She wore a tailored suit, sharp and masculine, paired with a massive coat draped casually over her shoulders.

The commanding figure leaned forward slightly, her gaze piercing as she looked down at Riona, who was shoved to her knees on the cold stone floor.

"Hello, Riona," the woman said, her voice smooth yet laden with authority. "Daughter of Remus and Amara."

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