Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate-Chapter 281: The World’s Pettiest Puppet Master

Thorin and Puck rode back to the Forest of the Strays, trying not to think about how Riona was still unconscious. On the bright side, her wound was healing. So, whatever Emperor Kaan had done, at least he hadn’t made things worse.

Thorin supposed he could stop cursing the vampire emperor. Maybe. Eventually. No promises.

Meanwhile, the Fallen One had been hovering around Riona like an overprotective ghost.

Eavesdropping on werewolf gossip had clued him in on Emperor Kaan, and he did not like what he’d heard. Panic creeping in, he shook Riona, nudged her, and even tried yelling in her ear.

Fear tightened its grip as he tried, desperately, to wake Riona. This was not the time for a beauty nap. She needed to wake up. Right now.

Because if she didn’t... the world might fall apart before she even opened her eyes.

"Come on, kid. Time to wake up. Riona! Your brother’s in danger! The world’s on fire! Taxes are due!"

The Fallen One was throwing out every possible crisis he could think of, hoping something would snap her out of it.

Did he know how vampire healing worked? Sure. He had been one once upon a time. Did he care right now? Absolutely not. What he did care about was getting this girl to wake up and do her save-the-world thing before everything went to hell.

***

Nina taunted the emperor. "Oh? So you’re admitting you killed Remus and that vampire princess, then?"

She wasn’t stupid—Nina Zacharia was never stupid. She had suspected for a long time that this smug, overpowered bloodsucker had something to do with their deaths.

It wasn’t a lucky guess. It wasn’t even detective work. The guy practically walked around wearing a ’Hi, I’m Suspicious’ sign.

The emperor had come to her, boasting about some secret magic he had mastered—one that could supposedly ’return’ someone to her. Yeah, because that didn’t sound sketchy at all.

And he knew, oh, he knew exactly what that would mean to her. He had done his homework on the Zacharia family, on her. He knew about Daciana—the eldest sibling, the traitor, the one who had chosen a rogue over her own blood. He knew about the tragedy that followed, the wound it left behind.

And what did the emperor do with this information? Why, weaponized it against her, of course. Classic villain move.

With that promise dangling in front of her, he made his offer. A simple deal. At least, that’s what Nina had thought at the time.

After all, she had done plenty of these jobs before. Killing for a hefty sum was practically second nature to her. She was good at it. And the gold? Even better. This should have been no different—another contract, another target, another payday. Easy peasy.

Her subordinates would handle it. They were skilled. Competent. Reliable. Surely, taking down a certain Alpha wouldn’t be a big deal, right?

Yeah. Wrong.

This job wasn’t just hard—it was a complete and utter disaster. The only mission in her entire career that she had never been able to finish. A humiliating stain on her perfect record.

And so, naturally, she had spent the rest of her life trying to fix it. Because nothing haunted her more than a job left unfinished... except, maybe, the emperor’s beautiful, all-knowing face.

"Oh, but really, you’re the one who sabotaged my job," Nina drawled, throwing up her hands. "I didn’t fail to kill Remus and his little vampire princess because of incompetence. I failed because you decided to cut in halfway! Had I not very clearly stated that I work alone? That I did not need your royal meddling while I was handling it?"

In her mind, this unfinished job was not her fault. The emperor himself had swooped in and taken out the target—so technically, the job was done. Just... not by her. Which, in Nina’s expert opinion, meant she was still entitled to her payment.

Now, to be fair, she hadn’t always thought this way. At first, she’d been willing to let it go. Walk away unpaid, chalk it up to bad luck, and maybe only complain about it a little.

Sure, she’d had a strong hunch that someone—namely, the emperor himself—had sabotaged her, but she’d kept quiet. Work integrity, if you will. Assuming such a thing existed in the world of paid assassins.

But now? Now that the emperor had straight-up admitted to ruining her job? And now that he was standing there, waltzing into this nearly-destroyed castle like he was on a leisurely sightseeing tour?

Yeah. No. She was rethinking her past decisions. And she was definitely collecting what was rightfully hers.

"Alright, now that we’ve cleared that up," Nina said, arms crossed, voice dripping with irritation. "I’ll take my promised reward now. So, tell me—where is Daciana?"

Emperor Kaan threw his head back and let out a booming, theatrical laugh, the kind that probably echoed for dramatic effect. "Oh, sweet child," he cooed mockingly. "Are you still lying to yourself? How pitiful! You know she’s gone."

Nina clenched her jaw, biting her lower lip hard enough to hurt. She’d heard the rumors. Whispers that Daciana was dead. But since she hadn’t seen a body—and as a general rule, never trusting the word of shady vampires—she refused to believe it.

And more importantly, this particular shady vampire had promised her that Daciana would return.

Emperor Kaan finally quieted his laughter, shaking his head. "I did say I could return someone to you," he mused. "But did I ever mention that it only applies to the living?"

He tilted his head, eyes gleaming with mockery. "I can’t bring back the dead, Nina. I’m not a god."

Which was a funny thing to say, considering he absolutely believed he was one—the kind who treated the world like his personal chessboard, shuffled people around like pawns, and made sure he was the only one winning the game.

Enraged, Nina lunged at the emperor at full speed.

Did she have a plan? Nope. Did she care? Also nope.

Was this a terrible idea? Absolutely. She was injured—badly. And, realistically speaking, no one in that castle stood a chance against Emperor Kaan. But logic had officially left the building.

All that mattered was the seething rage burning through her veins, a singular, all-consuming thought: Kill this smug, bloodsucking bastard.

"You think I’ll just stand here while you toy with me?!" she snapped, launching herself forward like an angry missile.

Emperor Kaan sidestepped her with almost insulting ease, letting her momentum carry her dangerously close to slamming into the wall. But Nina wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction. At the last second, she kicked off the stone surface, using it as a springboard to propel herself back at him.

The emperor, moving with all the casual boredom of someone dodging a particularly slow-moving mosquito, simply shifted to the side again. Before she could react, he snatched her by the collar and yanked her straight into the nearest wall.

He could have thrown her much farther—sent her crashing to the end of the hall and left her to bleed out in a broken heap. But where was the fun in that?

No, Emperor Kaan wanted to savor this. The moment when the mighty Zacharia name—once feared, once untouchable—crumbled beneath his power.