Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate
Chapter 49: Dreaming Instead of Scheming

Chapter 49: Dreaming Instead of Scheming

Riona dreaded the idea of currying favor with the politicians. Even those on her mother’s side would inevitably face conflicts of interest.

Ultimately, their decisions would be based on what benefitted them most, not on what could bring justice to light.

But she had no choice. She had no other ideas, and this was the only plan Thorin had suggested—or at least, it seemed that way. She would go along with his plan until she found another way to reject the petition.

When the sun was at its peak, and the vampires went to rest, Riona slipped into Florian’s chamber. Fortunately, he had not been affected by Riona’s reckless entrance at the grand banquet.

While Lady Maris was the instigator of the petition, Riona’s behavior at the grand banquet had also been less than desirable. She had given the nobles an opportunity to trample on her dreams. She had only herself to blame for this.

Riona brushed the hair off Florian’s small forehead. He looked so peaceful when he slept. She moved closer to him and recalled the first time she met him.

It was a rather unique story, one that Riona held onto tightly. As her memories of her past began to fade with time, the only vivid memories that remained were of Florian.

She was seven when she entered the palace with her uncle. She held his stiff hand, whose fingers remained rigid even when her small hand grasped them. King Valentin had never been good with children.

Lisbeth was clutching her mother’s skirt. Her gray eyes were still innocent, but even then, she had been combative. If her stare could kill, Riona would already be dead a thousand times. Much like her father, Lisbeth was intimidating.

Her new life in the palace was comfortable in terms of facilities and luxury. But little Riona did not care about a fluffy bed, a spacious chamber, or high-quality blood at that tender age. She cared more about meeting her parents again.

She missed them so much.

She knew the meaning of death. She knew it meant she could never meet her parents again. But even with that knowledge, she couldn’t help but want to see them.

Every day, Riona pretended that the pillow was her mother’s chest and cried herself to sleep. She would dream about them and wake up with a tear-streaked face. Missing people you would never be able to see again was excruciating.

A few days into her new life in the palace, Riona learned something shocking.

Lady Maris suddenly came to her chamber, bringing a young boy with her. He was very pale and had gray eyes.

"Riona, this is your brother, Florian. You have the same mother, but different fathers," Lady Maris said, which explained their distinct physical characteristics.

Riona couldn’t say anything for a while. She was baffled, not understanding how she could have a brother she didn’t know about. Would her mother not have told her about this?

She felt betrayed, but that quickly changed when she saw Florian’s innocent face. Her heart warmed.

"Who is his father?" she asked.

"No one knows," Lady Maris replied. "Only your mother knew, but I guess we’ll never find out now that she’s gone. I’m sorry for your loss, but you must take care of your brother now."

All of a sudden, Riona found a new purpose in life. In a way, Florian filled the hole her parents had left. Florian was her younger brother. He was the trace her parents had left in this world for her.

She began to see him as her responsibility. Even though taking care of a child when she herself was still a child was strenuous and confusing, Riona was happy.

Playing with her new brother made the nights seem shorter. She no longer fell asleep to tears during the day, and the nightmares stopped.

However, Florian, like herself, did not develop fangs as he grew up. Fangs were part of their identity as vampires.

Despite no longer being allowed to bite and suck on human blood thanks to the pact that Asvaldur made with other races thousands of years ago, having fangs was still seen as a source of pride for vampires.

Fangs might no longer be used to hunt for food, but they were still useful in combat, like their claws.

The older a vampire got, the more robust their fangs became. In a way, fangs served as a testament to the centuries a vampire had lived.

Being called "fangless" was the ultimate insult.

Riona didn’t mind being an outcast, but she couldn’t bear seeing Florian treated as such. She stroked her brother’s head and planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Don’t worry, little bat, I won’t let you suffer any more than you already have. We will find a way out of this hell. I promise," she whispered.

Riona pulled the blanket up to Florian’s chin. He squirmed slightly due to the sudden movement of the blanket. When Riona was sure Florian was still deeply asleep, she exited his chamber.

She headed to Thorin’s chamber, ready for their first task.

Thorin and Puck were waiting in front of their door, with Puck carrying thick, black fabric. He helped Riona put on the sun-protective gear, and as he did so, she muttered, "Thanks."

Puck paused and searched for Riona’s blue eyes. "What?"

She cleared her throat, embarrassed to repeat herself. But thanking Puck was a thousand times easier than thanking the smug Thorin. At least Puck didn’t give an air of superiority.

"You would think that spending hours in the library would eventually give you something, but..."

She couldn’t continue, as the incident was quite shameful to relive. Riona and the werewolves had locked themselves up in the library during the daylight hours. Thorin had drawn the curtain to let Riona browse the books in comfort.

However, instead of researching the nobles’ lineage and her mother’s loyal supporters, Riona was browsing dreams in her sleep. As soon as she opened a book, she drifted off.

Funnily enough, Thorin didn’t wake her and let her sleep until right before sunset.

Puck let out a tired sigh. "I didn’t expect a vampire could drool that much in their sleep. I thought only werewolves produced a lot of saliva—but we do it due to our lifestyle. What’s your excuse?"

Riona looked away. "Can we not talk about this? You found the list. That’s what matters."

Puck once again came to the rescue with his terrifying investigative skills. But she was right. It didn’t matter who found what; what mattered was that they knew now, and they needed to bring the people on the list to their side.

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