CHAPTER 202: EVERYTHING IS... FINE?

"Ahem! What is going on here?"

Everyone paused at the sound of the smooth, alluring voice, some of the Omegas - like Lyla, for example - even flinching out of surprise. They had just been in the middle of a... very important discussion, if you could call it that, and they had failed to keep an eye on their surroundings. Even the fragrance of the frosty rose that might have alerted them, escaped their attention, as it got lost among all the other scents filling the dining room.

And because of that, they got caught in a rather unfortunate situation.

"A-ah, Young Master Cael!" Lyla exclaimed, turning back to look at the owner of the voice, with a wide and polite, although somewhat awkward, smile plastered all over her face.

Young Master? Felix had expected Cael to have a high status, since he and Fen were Kade’s childhood friends and all, and Kade had said that Cael was very influential among young Omegas... But he didn’t expect he would also be titled ’Young Master’. Kade hadn’t mentioned them being related at all... Then again, he knew nothing about how titles and hierarchy worked in a supreme pack like the Bloodmoon, so he should perhaps he should stop being surprised by everything, and accept it as he learned.

(Young Master) Cael approached the group with a smile on his face. A gentle smile... that also looked low-key terrifying. Not to Felix, since it wasn’t directed at him, but he could tell the meaning behind the smile. And so could the other Omegas, because they shivered slightly at the thought of impending confrontation.

"Young Master, what are you doing here?" Lyla asked, trying to maintain composure. "Are you here to have lunch? Would you like to join us? We were just about to sit down..."

It was, of course, an attempt to shift the topic. She didn’t know when Cael had arrived, but if he just came... Then perhaps the fact that they were standing in the middle of the dining room could be simply explained by saying that they were deciding where to sit.

Only as long as Felix would cooperate... But she failed to consider that. It was quite an unfamiliar situation for her as well. It was the first time that Kade had given any Omega any special treatment - except for Cael, but he didn’t count, since he and Kade had more of a sibling relationship - so no one would intervene with any games that the Omega played among each other, at least as long as they didn’t take things too far.

Cael’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, I’m here for lunch..." he said, but before Lyla could exhale with relief, he asked, "But what’s with this tension between you all?"

"T-tension? What tension?" Lyla tried to laugh it off. "We’re just... only getting to know each other. We’ve only met this morning, so it’s normal that we’re still a bit awkward with each other!"

"Is that so?" Cael’s brows shot up. It was clear that he wasn’t buying it. Not only did Lyla not sound entirely convincing... But he also knew her too well to be fooled. So, he turned his eyes to Felix instead. "Felix, what is going on?"

Lyla abruptly turned to Felix as well. All of the earlier smugness was gone from her face, as the reality of the predicament she had gotten herself into had finally started dawning on her. The way she looked at Felix was half-pleading, half-threatening, as if she couldn’t quite decide which was the better approach to take...

How foolish. If she was going to be so worried that Felix might tell on her to Cael or Kade, then she should have never started anything with him...

After all, it wasn’t just her being impulsive. It was almost certain that she had been waiting in the garden to run into him. She could have thought it through then...

Felix held back a sigh, before giving his answer to Cael. "It’s nothing, really... We were just discussing where to sit. Lyla was going to just sit on one of the empty spots, but I suggested that we sit at the reserved table."

The Omegas looked at him with surprise. That... clearly wasn’t what had happened!

Cael was also doubtful, but instead of calling Felix out, he asked, "And that was a problem because...?"

"Who said it was a problem?" Felix shrugged his shoulders. "I think they were just a bit surprised, because they didn’t know about my status. After all, there hasn’t been any official announcement just yet."

Was it believable? Of course not. But was it possible? Technically yes...

Naturally, whether it was possible or not, Cael knew that it wasn’t the truth. So, he tried again, "Are you sure that everything is alright?"

But Felix was firm. "Yes, everything is perfectly fine," he said, leaving everyone stunned.

Cael stared at Felix, maintaining eye contact for a long while. He understood what was going on, even if he couldn’t quite grasp why Felix was covering for the Omegas who were clearly trying to subtly bully him... But though he knew what had truly happened, there was nothing he could do when Felix had said that everything was fine. He could only sigh, and smile. "Alright. Then, let me just confirm it for everyone: Felix here is the mother of Kade’s pup, therefore he’s entitled to sit at the reserved table. I hope everyone will keep it in mind from now on."

Having said that, he went over to the counter to order food for himself.

As for Felix, he ignored Lyla and the Omegas that were with her, and took a seat at the reserved table, starting his meal. FINALLY. Lyla looked as if she still wanted to say something...

But in the end, she didn’t. After all, if she had asked Felix why he had covered up for her, wouldn’t that be admitting that she had done something wrong?

Of course, Felix hadn’t done that for her. He wasn’t foolish enough to think that she would be grateful for it, or anything. But if he had chosen to complain to Cael, it could be seen as throwing his weight around. Lyla technically hadn’t done anything wrong...

And most importantly, if he had chosen to speak up, Lyla would have had to try to defend herself, and the argument would have dragged on. Which would result in delaying his lunch even more.

So, Felix had simply chosen the best way to resolve the situation. That’s not to say that he was going to just ignore it, but...

Conflicts were unavoidable. As long as he remained Kade’s potential future mate, there would be plenty of Omegas scheming against him. Rather than waste his energy on fighting insignificant, petty comments about him, he would much rather focus solely on anything that might pose a threat to him or Vivi. As for everything else...

Let them say whatever they wanted. Simple words couldn’t hurt him.

A moment later, Lyla and her little group joined him at the table. Although they were a little hesitant, worried about what might happen now that Cael was around... After all this talk, it would look too odd if they suddenly decided to sit apart from Felix. Thus, they had worn their fake smiles on their faces, and tried to feign a cordial atmosphere...