Fangless: The Alpha's Vampire Mate-Chapter 130: Puppy Eyes and Pink Hearts

"TIME OUT!!!" Thorin yelled, frantically tapping any part of Riona he could reach, including her knee, her shoulder, and possibly her elbow.

When she finally let him go, he scrambled away, looking like he’d just survived a wild animal encounter.

Feeling victorious, Riona struck a superhero pose with her hands on her hips. "Looks like you owe me a wish now!"

Thorin grumbled under his breath, muttering about how Riona had beaten him using questionable tactics. He wanted to complain about being baited, but he knew if he said anything, it would sound like he was a pervert.

And then there was the whole fated mates business. Everyone said fated mates were a werewolf-only thing.

Thorin used to buy into that completely—until he heard that Remus, the super-powerful Alpha, had picked a vampire as his partner.

If a guy like Remus was willing to break the rules, maybe the whole fated mate thing was more flexible than he thought. Or maybe he was just rethinking his entire life.

"Fine," Thorin said with a dramatic sigh. He was already plotting how to use that wish to spend more time with Riona. Totally not because he had a giant crush on her. Nope. This was just... um, ’curiosity.’

Thorin convinced himself that if he hung out with Riona more, got to know her better, and won her trust, maybe he’d figure out what these weird feelings were.

At least, that’s the excuse he was telling himself. It sounded a lot better than admitting he was just head-over-heels and using a magical wish to get closer to her.

"What do you want, then? More Crimson Vitae Workshop goodies?" Thorin asked casually.

Riona wrinkled her nose. "Why would I waste my precious wish on that? It’s your job to cater to my fancy tastes. Remember, you promised!"

She scratched her chin like she was deep in thought, but nothing brilliant popped up. Right now, all she really wanted was for Florian to stop being such a fortress and actually let her in.

Unfortunately, that was way beyond Thorin’s power.

"I’ll come up with something and let you know," she said.

"What are you two doing here?" Puck asked, strolling onto the beach with Zane following behind, wearing a grin that could probably start a fight all by itself.

Thorin stood up straighter, trying to shove down his frustration like it was an itchy sweater he couldn’t take off. He had to keep his cool, desperate not to let his aide see that he’d just been caught in the middle of daydreaming about Riona.

The last thing he needed was for Puck to latch onto that juicy tidbit and tease him about his hopelessly doomed romantic life.

"We’re sparring," Thorin replied, conveniently leaving out the part where he’d called for a time-out because he’d gotten drunk on Riona’s heavenly aroma. "What are you doing here?"

Puck raised an eyebrow, catching onto Thorin’s slight irritation, even though Thorin was trying hard to act chill. Like he wasn’t two seconds away from throwing a tantrum that his alone time with Riona had been spectacularly crashed.

Of all people, Puck was the last one he wanted to pick up on this. If Puck knew how close Thorin had been to writing Riona’s name in the sand like a lovesick teenager, he’d never hear the end of it.

"We need to talk," Puck said, instantly sucking the romance out of the air like a vacuum.

Thorin’s goofy grin disappeared so fast, you’d think it was never there. Puck, surprisingly, didn’t even crack a joke, even though he knew Thorin’s feelings like the back of his hand.

"In private," Puck added when Thorin made no move to stop clinging to Riona like a lovesick leech. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Looks like you’ve got alpha stuff to do. I’ll leave you two to discuss whatever new disaster the pack is dealing with," Riona said, sensing the sudden shift in mood.

"Where are you going?" Thorin asked, half whining, with puppy eyes that could probably melt stone. He didn’t even realize how pathetic he looked. Puck had to pinch himself to stop from gagging.

Riona blinked at him, confused. "Uh... to my room? What’s wrong? I’m starving and need to grab some blood. You need something?"

That’s when it hit Thorin that he was being a total idiot in front of everyone, practically broadcasting his emotions. He cleared his throat and tried to act like a normal, functioning adult.

"Never mind. I, uh, was thinking we could talk about your brother’s situation. But, yeah. Go on. Leave me to my... alpha duties."

Riona raised an eyebrow at his odd behavior but decided not to drag it out. She left quietly, probably thinking he’d lost his mind.

"Nice job hiding your feelings, Thorin. We totally didn’t see the little pink hearts floating around your head," Puck mocked.

"Shut up! You’re imagining things," Thorin snapped.

"Oh, really? Wipe your tears, then. You were practically sobbing when she said she was leaving," Puck shot back.

"NO!" Thorin barked, but his hand shot up to his eyes, nervously checking if there were any tears. Dry. Whew. Crisis averted.

Zane shook his head as he watched the two idiotic pups—okay, fine, immature adults—bickering like toddlers fighting over the last piece of meat.

To Zane the elder, Puck and Thorin would always be kids, no matter how old or "alpha" they thought they were.

"We found someone who might actually know what’s going on with Riona’s powers and what happened to you," Zane said, cutting in before the two started throwing sand at each other.

"We tracked her down, but she’s the type who never stays in one place for long. If we don’t meet her by this week, she’ll disappear to another town."

"Who is she?" Thorin asked.

"She’s a witch. Her family’s been passing down knowledge and secrets for generations," Zane explained. "Even though she wasn’t around centuries ago, she’s got all that wisdom from her great-great-great-grandparents."

Puck jumped in with the punchline, "And she knows how Remus got blessed by the Blood Moon child. Plus, she’s actually willing to spill the tea."

Thorin puffed up like he was about to save the world. "Then we must leave now!"