Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate
Chapter 260: You Know Nothing, Thorin

Chapter 260: You Know Nothing, Thorin

Finally, they managed to do something for Riona. Under Emperor Kaan’s command—which Thorin and Puck grumpily obeyed, since the emperor might be her only chance at survival—they moved Riona to her room.

Then, despite Thorin and Puck’s obvious reluctance, they left her alone with the emperor. For some annoyingly shady reason, he insisted no one could be present while he performed the magic to cure her.

Naturally, Thorin took this as well as you’d expect.

Thorin flat-out refused to leave. It wasn’t until Puck, clearly fed up with his dramatics, grabbed him and physically dragged him out that they got anywhere. And even then, Thorin fought like his life depended on it.

Meanwhile, Riona was over there struggling to breathe, which really should’ve been the focus of the moment, but no—Thorin was too busy being the most protective boyfriend of the year.

"It’s been hours! What’s taking him so long in there?" Thorin whined for what felt like the thousandth time, pacing furiously in front of Riona’s door like a guard dog who couldn’t decide whether to bark or bite.

Puck groaned, his patience fraying. He stood planted firmly between Thorin and the door, the only barrier stopping Thorin from charging back in. "Oh, for the love of—calm down. It’s been fifteen minutes. Fifteen! You’ve spent more time brushing your hair. Relax."

Thorin shot him a glare. "Relax? Riona’s in there with him. How exactly am I supposed to relax?"

"We’re werewolves, Thorin," Puck said, rolling his eyes as if he were explaining for the hundredth time why the sky is blue. "Our hearing and sense of smell are practically cheating. If that vampire does anything shady to your girlfriend, we’ll know. Immediately. So quit your pacing, shut up, and let him do his thing."

Nearby, Lady Maris stood with her arms crossed, exuding silent judgment. She wasn’t pacing or whining like Thorin, but her furrowed brow betrayed her inner turmoil.

She was caught between two conflicting desires: not wanting to trust Riona—their best shot at saving Florian and Eira—to the most suspicious vampire in the entire area, and wanting to believe that same suspicious vampire might actually save her.

"Perhaps..." Lady Maris began, her voice uncertain. She faltered for a moment, torn, before continuing, though the hesitation lingered. "Uh... should we check on her?"

"Not you too, Lady!" Puck groaned, shooting her an incredulous look. "Seriously? I thought you, of all people, would be able to think clearer. You’re supposed to be the noble here!"

He gestured wildly before muttering under his breath, "Riona doesn’t count—she’s about as noble as a feral cat, and she hates being called ’Lady,’ anyway."

Lady Maris shrugged, unable to come up with a solid argument against it. "Well, there’s no harm in checking, right? Once we’re sure everything’s fine, we can leave him to... whatever it is he’s doing in there."

With backup now secured, Thorin immediately doubled down on his insistence to check on Riona. Emboldened, he refused to shut up until they verified that she was alive, breathing, and not missing any vital body parts.

Faced with the unrelenting noise machine that was Thorin, Puck finally threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine! But you’re explaining to the emperor why we barged in during his ’magic time.’"

Grumbling under his breath, Puck led the way to Riona’s room. His hand had barely brushed the door handle when it suddenly creaked open from the inside.

Emperor Kaan stood calmly before the door, his tone as casual as if he’d just finished fixing a broken clock. "It’s done. She’s all patched up."

Sir Roderick immediately rushed to the door, ready to fetch his master. Before anyone could process what was happening, the emperor issued his next order: prepare to leave.

"Wait, what? You’re leaving? Where to, exactly?" Thorin spun around, eyes narrowing like he was about to start questioning the emperor about his entire existence.

He needed to make sure the emperor hadn’t done anything shady to Riona before he could, in Thorin’s words, flee.

"Flee," Thorin muttered to himself, the word practically dripping with suspicion. In Emperor Kaan’s mind, ’fleeing’ was just a minor misinterpretation of ’getting things done efficiently.’

"We’re leaving for Eira," Emperor Kaan explained with his usual unflappable calm. "I’ve promised Riona I’d help her brother, and I intend to fulfill it. Meanwhile, you’ll take care of my bride—"

"Your bride? Don’t you dare!" Thorin’s voice went up a few octaves as he fought to keep his sanity intact. He was this close to completely losing it, but there was no way in hell he was letting Emperor Kaan casually throw the word ’bride’ around like it was an old sock.

But Emperor Kaan didn’t even blink. "—and make sure she completely regains her health before you allow her to travel."

"Hey! HELLO? Am I invisible now? I’m talking here!" Thorin waved his arms like a madman in front of Emperor Kaan, but the emperor breezed past him without so much as a glance.

"Let’s go. Florian’s waiting for us." Emperor Kaan stretched his wrists in the most casual way possible, as though he were preparing to take a leisurely walk through a park, not embark on some potentially life-threatening journey.

Sir Roderick nodded dutifully and started the preparations, though, in fairness, there wasn’t much to pack since they hadn’t exactly been planning to settle down for the night.

As the Alpha continued to bark at the stunningly beautiful statue (because of course, that was the thing to focus on), Lady Maris entered the room and immediately checked on Riona’s condition.

Just as Emperor Kaan had claimed, the Blood Moon child’s wound was all patched up. Riona was sleeping soundly—likely for a while, since vampires took naps when their bodies needed to heal.

While the journey to save Florian might be delayed, Lady Maris could at least breathe a little easier, knowing that the key to solving the kingdom’s biggest problem was still alive.

Meanwhile, the Alpha was still obsessing over Emperor Kaan’s casual use of the word ’bride.’ You’d think the man had been personally offended by the term.

Puck shared the suspicions, but at least he wasn’t going to waste his time trying to stop the emperor. So, he followed Lady Maris to check on Riona—because, really, that was the only thing that mattered right now.

Once Emperor Kaan had disappeared, Thorin needed a sounding board for his complaints. "Can you believe that guy? Honestly, can you, with a straight face, really think Riona just trusted that glittering narcissist to save her brother while she’s here doing nothing?"

Puck gave him a long, uninterested stare. He’d rather be anywhere but here, listening to Thorin whine, but even he couldn’t ignore the facts. "You’re right. Riona wouldn’t do that. What the hell did that guy do to her?"