Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate-Chapter 137: Hanging Around

Everyone instantly forgot about Riona and Vesper’s petty bickering the moment a young werewolf burst in, crying.

Charna rushed over and tried to get him to stop bawling long enough to spit out what had gone wrong.

"Help! Please help!" The young werewolf kept repeating it like a broken record.

With all the sobbing and hiccuping, it was clear he didn’t have the words—or maybe even the brainpower—to explain the situation.

Instead, he grabbed Charna’s wrist and dragged her into the forest like some kind of tearful tour guide.

Naturally, a few werewolves trailed behind, anxiety rising like a bad smell. The kid’s mother showed up, joining the worried herd.

And Riona, well, despite having zero plans to get involved, somehow got swept up in the chaos.

Honestly, she had no idea why she was even going, but it turned out to be a lucky instinct because what they stumbled upon was no small issue.

The young werewolf led everyone to the edge of a deep abyss, where they found another werewolf—this one even younger—trapped beneath a fallen tree.

It looked like the tree had toppled during the hunt, pinning the poor kid in a life-threatening situation.

"Oh, no! Majora! Not again! Luis, what did you do to your sister?" the young werewolf’s mother shrieked as if this kind of drama was a regular occurrence in their household.

She bolted toward the fallen tree, ready to show off her werewolf mom’s strength and lift it single-handedly. But Charna threw out an arm and stopped her just in time.

"Wait, hold on! Unless you want Majora to plunge into the abyss, maybe don’t just start lifting trees so carelessly." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

A closer look revealed why.

Little Majora wasn’t just trapped under the tree—she was hanging upside down, one leg stuck under the tree while the rest of her dangled over the edge of an abyss.

Her tears were literally dripping down into the endless void below. One wrong move and she’d fall.

But the poor kid was bawling her eyes out. Terrified and hurting, she didn’t care that her whole world was literally upside down.

Instead of addressing the emergency, Mom decided now was the perfect time for some family bonding.

"Luis, start talking! What did you do?" Because, you know, blame before rescue is a solid parenting strategy.

Luis, wishing he could disappear into the nearest bush, stammered out an explanation. Apparently, after the hunt, the kids thought it’d be fun to play their own little version of ’chaser and prey.’

Obviously, things went from playful to ’whoops, now Majora’s dangling over a death drop’ real fast. The game took a tragic turn when Majora stumbled over something and ended up in her current gravity-defying situation.

Riona had an idea— of course, she did—and she boldly volunteered to rescue the girl.

Everyone squinted at her. Vesper, still clinging to their earlier spat, looked particularly suspicious, his eyes practically rolling out of his head.

But Charna, out of options and patience, sighed. At this point, she’d let a squirrel attempt the rescue if it seemed halfway capable.

"I’m fast, I’m light, and I can carry a kid without breaking a sweat," Riona said, casually tossing the information like she wasn’t offering to dangle herself over an abyss.

"But here’s the thing—teamwork isn’t exactly my jam. If you want me to pull this off, you’ll need to let me handle it my way. So... any chance you’ve got faith in me?"

Charna looked like she’d just been asked to jump into the abyss herself. She weighed her options—trust the snarky vampire or let gravity take its course.

Given that Riona had somehow led Trudy’s group to victory earlier, Charna had to gamble. With a deep sigh, she gave Riona the nod, praying that this wouldn’t turn into the world’s worst leadership decision.

Riona took a deep breath. Which, honestly, felt weird—she wasn’t usually the nervous type. She had centuries of experience, had faced countless dangers, and had never needed to rely on anyone but herself. So why the jitters?

Oh, right. Maybe because this particular situation involved saving an actual life—a tiny werewolf life. And if she messed up, it wouldn’t just be embarrassing, it would be tragic. No pressure, right?

Riona briefly wished she had telekinesis like her uncle. That would’ve made this whole rescue thing way easier—just flick her wrist, lift the tree, and boom! Heroic vampire moment.

But no such luck. She was stuck doing this the old-fashioned way, with zero cheat codes. So, she rolled her shoulders and got ready.

What happened next was a blur—literally.

One second, Riona was psyching herself up, and the next, the werewolves saw a series of flashes. No one could keep up with her movements.

To some, it looked like she just appeared next to the tree. Others swore they saw her leap over it in a single, graceful bound.

In reality, Riona rolled across the bulky trunk and snatched Majora by the waist just as the girl was about to plunge into the abyss. In one fluid motion, Riona propelled them both to safety, landing neatly on solid ground with the werewolf child in tow.

By the time everyone blinked and caught up, Riona was already standing there with the kid, who looked as bewildered as the rest of them. She glanced around at the stunned faces and shrugged.

"Well, that was... easier than I expected," she muttered, trying to play it cool, though her heart was still pounding.

Everyone cheered. Well, okay, not everyone—Vesper just stood there pouting like someone stole his lunch, and Morgan looked like she’d rather applaud a brick wall—but most of the werewolves did.

***

King Valentin had already heard rumors of Elder Alfred’s plan. The elder had approached Margrave Nicholas and intended to involve the emperor as well. It was a calculated move, the most plausible strategy to secure his position.

What the king hadn’t anticipated was the emperor bringing it up to him directly. No matter how much King Valentin thought about it, the situation felt odd.

Even stranger was the fact that Emperor Kaan volunteered the information after King Valentin had refused the marriage proposal. With the alliance rejected, the emperor had no formal ties to the Kingdom of Eira.

It made little sense for him to meddle in the kingdom’s political affairs without a personal stake.

"Your Majesty, the emperor requests an audience with you," announced Margrave Boris.

King Valentin sighed heavily, fingers drumming a nervous beat on the table.

What more could the emperor possibly want? he wondered.