Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate-Chapter 287: How to Gaslight a Prodigy

What happened when a self-absorbed psychopath was fed this kind of content from a young age? Oh, he started convincing himself that his quirks were just signs of how special he was.

Naturally, he began to look down on his peers even more and distanced himself. And just like that, any hope of him leading a normal childhood—or, let’s be real, a normal life—vanished faster than his social skills at a party.

To push Kaan even further away from his peers, Thessara was always there, subtly stepping in to assist him. Kaan would never admit it, but it was impossible to ignore how much Thessara contributed to his so-called ’genius.’

Yes, Kaan was undeniably gifted. He could pick up a new skill faster than anyone else and had a memory that put everyone’s to shame—or so it seemed. But even Kaan had his moments of forgetfulness. Shocking, right?

The only reason he seemed to remember everything was because Thessara was there to drop him the occasional ’hint’ when his memory failed him. So, when Kaan couldn’t recall something, Thessara swooped in like an invisible cheat code, and voilà—Kaan’s genius was back on track.

This little arrangement only made his golden-child status shine brighter, and of course, pushed him even further away from any chance of having normal, non-robotic friendships.

With no one willing to be his friend—not even adults, who were too busy worrying about being outsmarted by a kid—Thessara had officially secured her place as Kaan’s one and only companion.

"Look at those children. They’re so... childish," she would remark while Kaan silently observed his peers, ensuring the gap between him and normal social interaction became a bottomless pit.

"You’re not like them. You’re special. You’re destined for something great. Unlike them, you don’t have time for silly things."

And by silly things, she meant everything that made childhood remotely enjoyable—playing with friends, crying when hurt, laughing when happy.

Thessara had Kaan convinced that expressing emotions was just another form of embarrassing, juvenile nonsense. And the last thing he wanted was to look immature in front of the only figure who tolerated him.

So, he learned to suppress his feelings, perfecting the art of emotional repression until even he started to believe he was some kind of unshakable, all-knowing entity. Which, honestly, was exactly what Thessara wanted.

Having an emotional puppet would only complicate Thessara’s grand plan. An unemotional puppet, however—one who relied solely on logic—ould be far more efficient. No pesky feelings getting in the way, just cold, calculated decisions that would bring her vision to life without a hitch.

Perfect for world domination.

"This empire is too small for you. You deserve so much more. So much grandeur," Thessara whispered, her words slithering into his mind like a particularly ambitious sales pitch.

"Grandeur?" Kaan frowned. "What’s bigger than an empire?"

"Oh, child," she sighed, shaking her head at his adorable lack of villainous ambition. "You don’t understand yet. There is a power. A great power, granted by the Blood Moon. Whoever possesses it is destined to rule the entire world."

What she conveniently left out was the small, insignificant detail that this power wasn’t something you earned through sheer effort—it was a birthright. A glorified lottery win.

So when Kaan found out the truth at school, he was furious. But instead of admitting she had fed him a carefully crafted lie—leading him to believe he could become the Blood Moon child if he worked hard enough—Thessara did what she did best: twisted reality in her favor.

"What are you, a child? Why are you whining like that?" she snapped as if she were the one betrayed.

Kaan pouted, momentarily forgetting his self-imposed ’emotions are for the weak’ rule. "But... that means I’m not special!"

And there it was. The real wound. It wasn’t Thessara’s deception that hurt the most—it was the fact that someone out there was the most powerful being in the world. And that someone... wasn’t him. That hit harder than any lie ever could.

"You fool! Which part of power do you not understand? I thought I had taught you better than this!" Thessara huffed, as if personally offended by his incompetence. "It’s simple—you take it from the one who was born with it."

"T-take it...?" Kaan stammered.

What she really meant was to do whatever it took to control that power. It was a theory she had never actually proven, nor had anyone else ever entertained such a thought—let alone agreed with her.

But in Thessara’s mind, one undeniable truth reigned supreme: if you killed the Blood Moon child, their power had to pass to you.

History, of course, disagreed. Countless Blood Moon children had died over the centuries, but most had perished either from the sheer force of their own overwhelming power or from burning themselves out completely.

Not once had there been a recorded instance of their abilities transferring to another person—not that Thessara let inconvenient details get in her way.

To her, the reason was obvious: those who had killed Blood Moon children before simply didn’t deserve the power. They were nobodies, unremarkable. Amateurs. Peasants unworthy of divine upgrades.

But Kaan? He was different. She had personally groomed him to be special—special enough that, this time, when he took down the Blood Moon child... well, surely, surely the universe would make an exception.

Because that’s how magic worked. Right?

"If you want it, you have to take it. That is... if you want it badly enough," Thessara said, her voice dripping with the kind of smugness only a master manipulator could pull off.

Originally, she had planned for Kaan to find the Blood Moon child himself. You know, a little scavenger hunt—except instead of a cute prize at the end, it was cold-blooded murder. A perfect test of worthiness.

But then, the universe decided to speed things up for her.

A whisper floated through the Spiritual Circle.

"He has found the identity of the Blood Moon child."

He—as in, the First Ancestor himself.

Well, that was convenient. Thessara wasn’t about to let a golden opportunity like this go to waste. So, like any self-respecting schemer, she casually stalked the First Ancestor, quietly picking up the breadcrumbs until she had exactly what she needed: the Blood Moon child’s location.

And, of course, she graciously handed this crucial information over to Kaan.

"Listen closely. This is your first task, and it’s the most important one," she said, her voice practically purring with anticipation. "Prove yourself, and you’ll earn your rightful place as the conqueror of the world."

Kaan straightened, confidence radiating from him. "What must I do?"

Thessara smiled. "Kill the Blood Moon child."

No big deal. Just your average coming-of-age murder assignment.