Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate-Chapter 285: A Match Made in Villainy

Just to set the record straight—Kaan had never been possessed by Thessara. The Eleventh Ancestor wasn’t in the business of body-snatching, nor did she have the ability to do so.

Instead, she paid a hefty price (with the amount of worship she got, she’s a billionaire in the supernatural world) to drag herself down to earth and have a few words with her hand-picked descendants.

You know, the same way the Fallen One had been whispering naggings and bad jokes into Riona’s ear.

Of course, not just anyone could make the cut. Take Klyn, for example—way too nice, way too righteous, and honestly, just too much of a pushover to be Thessara’s little villain-in-the-making.

Kaan, though, had just the right mix of ambition, cunning, and moral flexibility. He was exactly the kind of guy Thessara could count on to carry out her world-ending revenge tour.

And unlike her other disposable minions, she’d had her eye on him from the very start—before he even had the chance to be a disappointment, while he was still chilling in his mother’s womb. Talk about long-term investments.

When Kaan was conceived, she just knew it. Call it a mother’s intuition—if mothers were ancient, invisible beings vibrating with evil energy and questionable morals.

This was it. The perfect descendant. And considering how unreliable vampires were, she wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away.

Thessara had staked her claim on him when he was just a fetus, and honestly, it was a great call. The kid came into the world without so much as a whimper, which was already a solid résumé for a future ominous villain.

From that moment on, she got to work, whispering sweet nothings—or rather, sinister somethings—into his tiny, unsuspecting ears.

Long story short, she helped—a lot. She didn’t hand him her power (what was she, a charity?), but she did give his abilities a nice little boost. And by ’little,’ I mean she cranked them up to eleven. No wonder Kaan ended up so ridiculously powerful and basically impossible to beat.

That being said, the whole ’learning faster than everyone else’ thing was all him. Thessara had zero involvement there—though she wouldn’t mind taking credit if it made her look better.

But the fusion of his natural talent and her subtle interference had forged Kaan into exactly what he was meant to be—the perfect emperor, destined to conquer the world.

Meanwhile, Klyn knew none of this. As far as he was concerned, his precious son was spiraling into the clutches of some evil, long-dead relative who just wanted to use him for her own nefarious purposes.

Which, okay, technically wasn’t wrong—but still, rude.

He vented his concerns to Sir Damien—the one person he actually trusted these days. Honestly, even when Chastity was alive, Damien had been his go-to. The man was basically his emotional support knight at this point.

Their history ran deep; they had walked a long road together. And beyond that, Damien’s father had served Klyn’s father before him. Bonds like that weren’t just about loyalty.

At this point, their bond was less ’emperor and subordinate’ and more ’grumpy old married couple who had seen too much but stuck it out anyway.’

"What do I do, Damien? What if he turns out just like Peter?" Klyn groaned, rubbing his temples like the weight of the empire—and impending doom—rested squarely on his shoulders.

He couldn’t bear the thought of Kaan being branded a traitor or going down in history as the empire’s first tyrant. The first evil emperor, the family disappointment, the cautionary tale parents whispered about to scare their kids into behaving. More than anything, he didn’t want Kaan to be evil. Klyn himself had always tried to do what was right, and Chastity had been a beacon of kindness. He had hoped—expected—their son to be the same.

But Kaan was different. He had none of Chastity’s generosity, none of Klyn’s moral compass. Instead, he had... whatever this was.

Sir Damien, ever the voice of reason (or just very good at keeping his job), gave his emperor a reassuring look.

"Your Majesty, you’re spiraling. His Highness is a child. Children are weird. Some chew on furniture, some collect dead bugs, and some—like the Crown Prince—just happen to be a little... impassive. Maybe that’s just the mark of a brilliant mind at work."

Against all odds, Sir Damien had actually believed his own reassurances. He truly thought Kaan would grow up like any normal vampire—brooding, dramatic, maybe a little bloodthirsty, but otherwise well-adjusted.

Then he witnessed the kid in action.

It started with the dead birds.

The imperial army’s training had left a few unfortunate casualties scattered across the grounds. Most children, upon seeing them, did the reasonable thing: they screamed, cried, and ran for their lives. Kaan, on the other hand, was fascinated.

He didn’t recoil. He didn’t hesitate. He marched straight up to the lifeless birds, crouched down, and examined them as if they were priceless artifacts. He picked them up, turned them over in his hands, and scrutinized them with unnerving intensity.

Then, just when Damien thought it couldn’t get any worse—Kaan sniffed them.

That was the precise moment Sir Damien’s faith crumbled.

He immediately sought out Klyn and, in the most diplomatic way possible, offered the best parenting advice he could muster: "Your Majesty, perhaps His Highness should... interact with more children his own age. You know, to learn the social ropes."

Klyn had never actively forbidden Kaan from mingling with others; it had simply never been a priority. Taking Damien’s advice to heart, he started hosting weekly gatherings for children at the palace.

Unfortunately, instead of improving, things only got weirder. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Instead of blending in, Kaan’s interactions with other children only made it painfully clear that he was operating on an entirely different wavelength.

And not the normal kind.

"See? They’re looking at you weirdly," Thessara whispered into Kaan’s ear, her tone dripping with amusement.

Of course, they were. It wasn’t every day a kid picked up a dead bird and examined it like a fine work of art.

Kaan stared blankly at the children around him, then lifted the dead bird a little higher. "But aren’t they just curious? This is the first time I’ve seen a dead bird. I want to see what kind of face it was making."

Thessara chuckled, a soft, pleased sound. Oh, this was perfect. A natural-born little psychopath—her next puppet was already shaping up beautifully.

"No, darling. They’re not curious—they’re idiots," she purred. "Their tiny little brains can’t handle complex things like... your urges. But you, my dear child—you are special. Those ordinary children will never understand what goes on inside that precious mind of yours."

She leaned in, voice as sweet as poisoned honey. "But I do. Only I understand you."