Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate
Chapter 65: Truth? Nah.

Chapter 65: Truth? Nah.

Riona didn’t say a word after the showdown with the powerful nobles who were against her.

A few days ago, she had been so optimistic about this plan. She trusted Sir Kai and believed that she deserved her admission to the Nightwarden.

After all, she had won the Trials and the official sparring against Lisbeth. She had overcome the challenges Lisbeth had added to block her path.

There was no one who deserved to be a Nightwatch Novice more than her!

Her biggest mistake was forgetting how this world worked.

Truth didn’t always matter. More often than not, it never did. The most important thing was always what benefited the powerful.

Lady Maris, the one actually sitting on top, was involved in this matter. It hadn’t been Riona’s choice to face the most powerful lady in the Kingdom of Eira. It was Lisbeth’s fault that Riona was dragged into this mess.

Regardless of whose fault this was, Riona suffered the most.

She felt dejected, and rightfully so.

Although there was no official verdict on the petition, Riona was losing hope. King Valentin’s recent response had been unfavorable. Their plan to pressure her uncle into an immediate rejection of the petition had failed miserably.

Knowing that Lady Maris did not attempt to conceal her involvement only deepened Riona’s doubts about escaping their grasp.

"I don’t understand. They despise you to the core, yet they refuse to let you leave the palace," Puck exclaimed, showing his frustration and support for Riona.

She appreciated his support but remained upset about how things had turned out. Leaning against the wall, she sighed. "It’s Lisbeth. She’s so fixated on defeating me. As long as she hasn’t succeeded, she won’t allow me to leave."

Thorin started to speak but hesitated. It looked as if he considered suggesting that Riona fake a defeat to end the ordeal quickly. Yet, he seemed to realize that Riona wouldn’t compromise her dignity like that.

Florian sat by Riona’s side, leaning his head on her arm. He wrote on her palm, asking if she was okay. When she shook her head and honestly shared her sorrow, Florian cried.

She patted his head and kissed his hand. "Don’t worry. I’ll find another way."

He rubbed his eyes and wrote more, telling Riona to give up on being a Nightwatch Novice. But Riona shook her head again and said, "I can’t. It’s the only way for us."

Florian grabbed Riona’s palm and put it on his lap. His index finger paused on it for some time as he hesitated before finally revealing his thoughts.

"Just leave me here. I’ll be alright."

"What are you saying?! Never! That won’t happen. Not in a million years," Riona shrieked. She almost burst into tears.

Florian tugged at her sleeve, not giving up on his plead. Objectively speaking, Riona leaving by herself would make things a lot easier. She didn’t need to ensure abundant gold to survive alone.

However, what’s the use of escaping if she couldn’t be with him? The whole plan was conceived for Florian!

She pulled her hand away, not wanting to hear any more of Florian’s nonsense. But he still couldn’t let go of the thought. He tried to snatch Riona’s hand, and when she kept them out of his reach, he jumped up and grabbed Thorin’s hand.

He hurriedly wrote something on Thorin’s palm and pointed at Riona.

The Alpha werewolf appeared troubled, glancing at Riona with a layer of confusion. She crossed her arms, begging him with her eyes not to say a thing.

On the other hand, Florian pushed him to relay the message. That kid also looked like he would wail any second. Thorin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"He said you have protected him long enough now," Thorin murmured, creasing his brows as if in pain.

Florian wrote another message, and the Alpha spoke in an even lower volume, "You need to chase your own happiness now."

Riona lifted her hands and put them over her ears. "I heard nothing, and I don’t want to hear anything."

Seeing that Florian didn’t want to give up, she jolted up from her seat and left. The little boy’s shoulders hunched, feeling depressed and guilty for being a burden to his sister.

Count Charles put his warm, thick hand on Florian’s shoulder and said, "Not everyone can easily abandon their family, especially when you’re the only family she has left."

***

Riona retreated to the balcony on the third floor. She sat on the floor, leaning against the brick railing, staring at the Blood Moon.

"Ssshhhh..." A strong gust of wind blew, making loud noises.

Strange. Despite the sound of the wind, Riona didn’t feel it. She looked around, even stretching her arm to check.

Since nothing happened, Riona returned to her thoughts. Another strong gale came with a more thunderous sound.

"Huh? Who’s there?" Riona stood up and looked around. It felt like someone was playing a prank on her. "Come on out! What a good timing you have. Fight me! I want to let out some steam."

She thought that maybe those useless Nightwatches, Harlan and the gang, were behind this. Perhaps he still held a grudge for what happened to Mars—he recovered, but he lost his agility due to the injury.

Riona shouted and waited, but there was no answer. She scoffed. "Cowards."

As if mocking her, the moment she sat back down, the noise came again. "What is it that you want, huh? If you want to challenge me, then come on out!"

She screamed into the air. The anger she had suppressed while facing those noble morons came to the surface. Riona was no longer upset—she was enraged.

"Are you afraid of me? Do you think I won’t be able to find you if you hide well?" She climbed up, took off her shoes, and put one foot on the railing, ready to fly away to hunt her tormentor.

But suddenly, she felt something warm around her body. The warmth turned into vicious heat, so hot that she began to shed the layers of her clothing, starting with her outer coat and down to her inner dress.

Before she could be left in only her undergarments, the temperature balanced out.

"Stop that! You’re going to embarrass yourself," said someone.

"Who’s that? Show yourself!"

The voice laughed. "Why do you keep telling me to reveal myself? You know, vampires usually dance in joy when they hear my voice, but you... are you stupid or what? Can’t you tell?"

"Tell what?"

"I’m your ancestor, dummy."