CHAPTER 204: YOU’VE SAID OTHERWISE

Felix ate dinner alone that evening. Well, perhaps not entirely alone - there were two other people sitting at the reserved table... But Felix didn’t know them, and they looked like a couple, so he didn’t want to disturb them. He just sat down at the other end of the table.

He was used to eating alone, anyway, so it didn’t bother him. It was much better than the awkward atmosphere during lunch, or the (kind of) interrogation at breakfast. He preferred to enjoy his meal in peace.

After dinner, he returned straight to his room. Vivi had already woken up from her afternoon nap, so Felix wanted to spend some quality time playing with her. He might have enjoyed doing pottery, especially since he didn’t get to do it much recently, but spending time with his daughter was still the best.

They didn’t get to play together in peace, though, just the two of them. Barely half an hour, at most. Felix didn’t even finish reading a children’s book to Vivi, before knocking on the door came.

On the inner door, connecting Felix’s room with Kade’s.

Felix let out a quiet sigh, and put the book away. It’s been a few hours since the incident at lunch. Did Cael keep his word and not report anything to Kade? And even if he did, with so many witnesses, there was a chance Kade might have found out about it anyway... The question was how much he knew.

And how would he react, because Felix still couldn’t quite tell. He probably wouldn’t be happy... But since those Omegas were his pack members, and they only subtly tried to put Felix down with their words, and hadn’t caused him any harm, then surely he wouldn’t hurt them because of it, right?

...Then again, that guard who had arranged for that Beta rogue, Brian, to follow Felix, had been beaten up pretty badly... Even though he had only done it to help Kade play the role of a knight in shining armor to impress Felix, and no one was harmed in the process, Felix only had gotten a little scare, that’s all.

So, who’s to say Kade wouldn’t want to execute any punishment this time as well? A punishment far exceeding the ’crime’?

While Felix didn’t want him to get involved at all! Not for now, at least.

Of course, that was a problem that could be solved only by discussion, not avoidance, so he took a deep breath, and said, "Come in."

The door opened, and Kade stepped into the room, his lips curving into a smile as his eyes fell onto Felix. "Hi, how was your day?" he asked, approaching the sofa where Felix was seated.

"It was alright. I spent most of it in the workshop," Felix answered smoothly, not missing a beat. He tried to play it casual, barely glancing at Kade, but in truth, he was on edge, watching for any sign that something might be wrong.

If Kade was planning to deal with Lyla and her group, would he have told Felix beforehand, or settle things on his own? Felix wasn’t sure, but the latter option seemed too plausible for comfort... But bringing it up first might alert Kade if he was still unaware, or might make it seem like a bigger deal than it actually was, which is why Felix restrained himself to just observing the Alpha for now.

Kade plopped down on the sofa right next to Felix. "You like it that much?"

He didn’t even try to hide his pleased grin.

His expression made Felix want to deny it, but in the end, he decided he shouldn’t act so ungrateful, so he answered truthfully, "It is very nice. Thank you for allowing me to use it."

"But of course. It’s just a small workshop. If you want, this whole pack can be yours one day..."

Hearing this nonsense, Felix shot Kade a sharp glare. As if it was ever going to happen! He had made it clear in the past that he had no desire to be the Luna of the pack, not the Bloodmoon, and not any other, and he still stood by it. It simply... wasn’t for him.

Kade wasn’t discouraged by his glare though, already used to Felix’s defiance. He just bent down, reaching out to tickle Vivi’s little hands. "And how was my daughter’s day?"

Vivi giggled happily, trying to grab Kade’s finger, so much bigger than both of her hands. She was oddly comfortable with Kade, especially considering that she didn’t interact much with the Alpha in her short life. Not as comfortable as with Remi, but still.

Almost as if she recognized Kade as her family...

’Ugh,’ Felix barely held back his groan at the thought. On one hand, it was good that Vivi liked Kade, or else people at the Bloodmoon Pack might find it suspicious, or accuse Felix of purposely ruining the good relationship between Kade and his pup (although what could he possibly gain from it, Felix had no idea, but people were often unreasonable like that), which would negatively impact their stay in the pack... But on the other, it really wasn’t good for Vivi to get too attached, since Felix was planning to eventually leave...

"She’s not your daughter," he corrected Kade sternly. There were only three of them in the room, Felix, Kade, and Vivi, so there was no need to stick to their made-up stories.

He didn’t pull Vivi away from him, though - how could he, when the pup was giggling and playing so happily?

Kade lifted his brows, looking up at Felix, a playful smile dancing on his lips. "You’ve said otherwise earlier."

"...What do you mean?" Felix furrowed his brows, confused. When had he ever...

"At lunch, in the dining room."

...Ah.

Indeed, he had. Of course, it was different, since it was in public, and it was to assert his status to the Omegas who were trying to put him down...

But Kade’s mentioning it confirmed that he had heard about the incident.

Felix pressed his lips, quickly thinking of the best response. "Well, that’s the official version, no?" he said with a light shrug of his shoulders. "Even if it bothers me, I have to stick to it in public. There’s no need to keep up the pretenses when we’re in private, now is there?"

"Of course there is!" Kade shook his head with a theatrical sigh, as if he couldn’t believe Felix might have thought otherwise. "We need to stick to it at all times, so that it becomes a habit. In fact, it would be best if you kept repeating it to yourself until even you believe that it’s the truth. This way, you are less likely to make a mistake when distracted!"

Felix just stared at him, speechless.

Kade understood this stare. He understood... But it still didn’t stop him from continuing,

"Actually, how about we go all the way? Although you’re not officially my mate, since we have a pup together, that means that we must have been intimate with each other, going so far as to spend a night together. Shouldn’t we be more lovey-dovey then? Or else it might look odd..."

Felix stood up abruptly, barely avoiding Kade’s arms that tried to sneak around his waist. "There’s no need for that. It might have been just one night, a drunken mistake, or under the influence of the heat... The more we pretend that we’re something we’re not, the more likely others are to find that things are not adding up," he quickly shot Kade down. It was simply unnecessary, although perhaps not entirely appalling...

Felix’s cheeks flushed as the images of him and Kade entangled together suddenly popped up in his mind, but he shook his head energetically, trying to dispel them. Yes, Kade was hot and handsome, annoyingly so, and his sandalwood pheromones smelled alluring... He was also a great kisser, Felix still couldn’t quite forget that kiss they had shared after breaking their bond. But letting himself succumb to the Alpha’s fatal attractiveness wouldn’t do him any good!

"Young Master Kade, you’ve been working until so late, aren’t you tired?" he asked, before Kade could say anything else. "Shouldn’t you go get some rest?"

"I’m not tired at all," Kade grinned, to which Felix snapped back,

"But I am."

"Hmm." Kade hummed under his nose. He stayed seated on the sofa for a moment longer...

But eventually, he got up, and made a move to leave.

Only then did Felix realize that he still hadn’t found out how much Kade knew about the earlier incident, and what were his thoughts on it. He bit his lip, hesitating. Should he ask directly, after all, or...

Before he could decide, though, Kade paused, and turned back to face Felix. "About earlier... What exactly is going on?"

"E-earlier?"

"In the dining room, with Lyla."

So Kade had brought it up himself. It seems that whatever he had heard, it was enough to make him at least a bit suspicious. Just a little bit, though, since the look in his purple black eyes wasn’t all that serious.

Felix took a slow breath to stay calm, and waved his head dismissively. "It’s nothing big, really. Just a misunderstanding."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it’s nothing. You can ask Cael, he was there as well."

"Hm." Kade stared at Felix intently for a while longer. In the end, though, he nodded his head, letting it go. "Alright, since you say so. I have a few more things to take care of, so I’ll be going now. Sleep well!"

Having said that, he disappeared behind the door.

Felix could finally exhale with relief. Although he wasn’t sure whether Kade believed him or not... It seemed that at least for now, the situation had been resolved, if you could call it that. As for what to do next...

Felix would just go with the flow. There was no point in planning ahead, when he still didn’t have a good grasp of the situation and the pack’s dynamics!