Chapter 39 Fated Mate vs VampBoy

Chapter 39 Fated Mate vs VampBoy
Roman 
We drifted back toward the patio after Mei left, the evening suddenly quieter without her tornado energy tearing through the place.
Sienna immediately started gathering plates before either of us could stop her. “Hey—” Nathan started. Too late. She was already carrying dishes inside with determined focus.
I watched her disappear into the kitchen, her soft sundress swaying around her legs, and exhaled slowly through my nose.
Her scent lingered everywhere. Sweet. Warm. Dangerous.
The patio door slid shut behind her. Nathan turned to me instantly. “For the love of God,” he muttered, “tell her to go to her cottage and let us finish up here.”
I shot him a look. He pointed dramatically toward the house. “If she floods this place with any more of her scent, I might jump you.”
I glared harder.
Unfortunately…He wasn’t wrong. Reaper was pacing nonstop in my head, restless and worked up, and judging by my still very unresolved physical situation downstairs, my body was in full agreement.
This was torture. Actual torture.
The patio door opened again and Sienna stepped back outside, reaching for another stack of dishes. I intercepted her immediately. “Sienna…”
She looked up at me. Those blue eyes nearly derailed my train of thought. Focus you horny idiot. “Leave the rest to me and Nathan.” I said.
She opened her mouth, clearly about to protest. I cut her off gently. “I’m sure you want a shower after standing around the grill all evening,” I said. “And we’ve got this.”
She hesitated. Then nodded slowly. “Besides,” I added casually, “I’ll come over later. I need to talk to you about something.”
That got her full attention. A flicker of nervousness crossed her face before she nodded again. “Okay.”
She looked toward Nathan. “Goodnight, Nathan.”
“Night, Luna,” he replied automatically.
She blinked faintly at the title but didn’t comment on it, instead heading toward her cottage.
The second she disappeared from sight—Nathan rounded on me with a grin. “Ohhh, so a private chat?” he drawled. “Sure. Totally innocent.” I groaned internally. “With her fresh out the shower too?” he continued mercilessly. “Her scent flooding that tiny cottage?”
He wagged his eyebrows. “Sounds less like conversation and more like horizontal discussion.”
“Shut up,” I muttered. Useless idiot.
He is not wrong, Reaper chimed in immediately. Traitor. Mate will smell amazing after a shower, he continued thoughtfully. All soft and warm and rosy…
“Oh my Goddess,” I muttered aloud, rubbing my face. Two idiots. I was surrounded by them. “No, dumbass,” I said to Nathan with exasperation. “That’s not why I’m going over there.”
His grin faded slightly.
“She’s going to that lunch tomorrow alone,” I said more seriously. “I need to tell her what Nikolai really is.”
Nathan sobered instantly. “Oh.” Yeah Oh…Exactly.
“She just found out about werewolves,” he said carefully. “And now you’re planning to spring vampires on her too?”
I leaned back against the patio railing, exhaling heavily. “I can’t just let her walk in blind.”
Reaper growled low at the thought of Nikolai anywhere near his girl. Possessive. Territorial.
Nathan folded his arms. “Can’t you just forbid her from going?”
I snorted softly. “Sienna?” I said dryly. “Forbid?” That alone was laughable. “She’d either panic… or dig her heels in harder.”
And I wasn’t about to become another person trying to control her. No. If she was going to be part of this world—She deserved honesty. Even if it scared her.
“He’s attached to her,” I admitted quietly. “More than I’m comfortable with. If he tries something tomorrow, she needs to understand what she’s dealing with.”
Nathan nodded grimly. Neither of us liked it. Not even slightly.
“He’s pursuing her,” I said bluntly now, the words tasting bitter. “And the worst part is…” I looked away toward Sienna’s cottage, lights glowing softly through the curtains. “I think she feels something for him too.”
Saying it aloud made something ugly twist in my chest. Reaper snarled immediately. Mate is ours.
“I know,” I muttered internally. “But she’s human.”
Nathan frowned. “Roman—”
“She doesn’t have a wolf,” I cut in quietly. “She doesn’t feel this bond the way we do.”
That was the part clawing at me. Terrifying me. Because for wolves, the mate bond was absolute. Instinctive. Soul-deep.
But Sienna? She was human. Logical. Complicated. What if instinct wasn’t enough for her? What if choice mattered more? And what if she chose wrong?
“She cares about him,” I admitted roughly. “I can see it. And Nikolai…” I scoffed humorlessly. “That vampire might even try glamour if he wants her badly enough.”
Nathan sighed and leaned back beside me. “The mate bond is stronger than anything,” he said firmly. “You know that.”
“For wolves,” I countered immediately. Silence. His jaw tightened because he knew exactly what I meant.
“We don’t know how it works for humans,” I said quietly. “What if she can ignore it? What if she decides she wants a normal life instead of…” I gestured vaguely toward us. “All this.”
Reaper went eerily silent in my head at the thought. Nathan scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re spiraling Roman. Sienna isn’t like that.”
My expression tightened slightly. “Maybe.”
“You saw her today,” he argued. “The way she reacts to you? To Reaper? She practically glows around you.”
I huffed out a breath. “And yet she’s still excited to see Nikolai tomorrow.”
That shut him up. Because neither of us liked that part. Not even slightly. We stacked chairs in silence after that, the earlier teasing gone.
An uneasy tension settled over the patio instead. Because no matter how much we trusted Sienna—Nikolai was still a vampire, an unknown variable and so was the depth of her feelings for him.
And neither me nor Reaper were remotely happy about Vamp Boy sniffing around our mate.