Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate
Chapter 164: Romance on Hold

Chapter 164: Romance on Hold

"No way! Are you out of your mind? You’ve been bullied so hard that you went mute, and now that you can finally string a few words together, you want to waltz back into that den of madness? Are you actually insane?"

Riona shook her head in disbelief. The logic of it all was beyond her comprehension, and she doubted she’d ever grasp it. That kingdom was crawling with people who would gladly see her dead.

It was clear the elder had wanted her gone, and for some bizarre reason, King Valentin had stepped in to stop him. A thought struck her: what if King Valentin had kept her around for her own protection?

In the end, her uncle had let her escape. She could still picture the intense look on his face as he blocked the elder’s attack meant for her, a scene she’d never forget.

If Riona were in Florian’s shoes—if it were his life that had been under threat—she wouldn’t even consider going back to the very place that had endangered him even if they were giving away free cookies.

But of course, she couldn’t say that out loud. Heaven forbid she sound self-absorbed or make Florian think he should prioritize her over his own crazy ideas.

Still... if he actually cared about her, wouldn’t he have thought this through before declaring his desire to return to the land of eternal doom and gloom?

Florian let out a dramatic sigh, clearly convinced that his sister couldn’t possibly understand his profound wisdom—and honestly, he wasn’t entirely wrong! Who could wrap their head around that kind of nonsense?

"Flo, please! Are you serious? Can you even live without me?"

Florian raised an eyebrow, and it felt like a dagger to Riona’s heart. The little bat who used to cling to her like a lifeline was gone. He would cry if she was even a minute late, refusing to let go of her hand whenever they were together.

But now, this stranger in front of her wasn’t the brother she remembered; it felt like she had lost him entirely.

Suppressing her hurt and disappointment, Riona took a deep breath. She reminded herself that Florian was just a teenager, likely going through a phase where rebellion was practically mandatory.

As the responsible older sister, she decided to take charge—because clearly, he wasn’t capable of making any crucial decisions on his own.

"Let’s just drop this. You’re not going anywhere, and I won’t let you out of my sight," she declared, firmly crossing her arms.

***

Thorin called Riona out of the hut, leaving Zane on babysitting duty for the unpredictable young vampire.

Once outside, in true dramatic fashion, Thorin whipped off his shirt like some kind of glowing fairytale prince and draped it over Riona’s head to shield her delicate vampire skin from the sun.

Because apparently, even in the middle of a crisis, protecting his lover from sunburn was a priority.

"I need to go," Thorin declared, no buildup, no small talk—just straight to the point.

"But—"

"It won’t take long."

Thorin launched into a rundown of the situation. He mentioned the animals in the woods and the river, and how he had to meet with his aunt to stake his claim and make sure she didn’t interfere with Wintertooth’s affairs.

"And don’t tell anyone. The last thing we need is another werewolf panic attack."

Riona blinked at him, trying to keep up. "Are you sure you even have the power already? Do you feel anything? Like heat, cold... or maybe a magical tingling sensation? Anything?"

She knew exactly what the Blood Moon power felt like when it surged through her—like getting hit by a thunderbolt dipped in ice. It was overwhelming, like holding a storm in your veins.

But when Thorin had transferred his power to her, it had been different. Less zapped by lightning and more... well, it felt strangely okay.

"I don’t know. Nothing specific, but whether or not I’ve got the ’Blood Moon Power Deluxe Package,’ I still have to go." Thorin shrugged as if the whole life-or-death power transfer was just another mild inconvenience.

He pulled Riona into a hug and gave her a quick kiss. "I’m sorry I have to leave, Riona. We should be planning our wedding right now, not... well, this. Huft..."

"Thorin, there’s nothing you can do about it. Duty calls, and you have to answer. It’s your job as Alpha. Comes with the territory."

Thorin laced his fingers with hers, lifting her hand to his lips, kissing it as if they were in some grand fairy tale. "Just sit back and wait for me to come back. Then, we’ll have the most extravagant wedding anyone’s ever seen."

Riona didn’t respond. She was too busy staring at her hand in his.

"What’s wrong?" Thorin asked, noticing the way Riona’s face turned beet-red as she quickly looked away.

Naturally, he wasn’t having that, so he gently pulled her back to face him, grinning like he’d just won the lottery.

"I’m... still not used to this," she muttered, flustered.

"Well, get used to it," he said, leaning in and planting rapid-fire kisses all over her face. "Because this is your future. I’m going to do this all the time."

"Uh... can you not?" Riona’s voice was muffled under the onslaught of affection, but Thorin was undeterred.

"Yeah, can you not?" Puck cut in, looking thoroughly irritated. "Seriously, man. Some of us are trying to keep our lunch down."

It wasn’t just the fact that Thorin was acting like a lovesick puppy, but because, frankly, Puck wasn’t ready for this level of PDA. Especially considering he still hadn’t met his mate.

And with the mountain of chaos constantly looming over him, it didn’t seem like he would anytime soon. Because, of course, fate was that kind of rude.

"Come on. We need to go," Puck reminded Thorin, then turned around when Thorin was leaning towards Riona. He knew what was going to happen, and he certainly didn’t need to see it.

Sure enough, Thorin leaned in for one last kiss, because apparently, one for the road wasn’t nearly enough in his mind. Puck sighed dramatically.

"For the love of—can you save it for later? We’re on a tight schedule."

Thorin finally broke away, grinning like a man who just won the lottery.

"Alright, alright," he muttered, reluctantly trailing after an annoyed Puck, who was already muttering under his breath about how long this little detour had taken.

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