CHAPTER 211: FAMILIAR SCENT

"Gasp!"

Felix woke up with a start, his eyes snapping open.

Only to see nothing but a dark ceiling.

It was still dark outside, long before dawn. Everything was peaceful and quiet.

He was lying on his bed, covered with a warm quilt. Vivi was in her crib, sleeping soundly, her breathing calm and steady. The window was closed.

Everything was as it should have been.

Felix lifted his hand to his neck instinctively, but it was also fine. It wasn’t itching or anything. And it wasn’t covered in the balm that reduced the itching either.

...Was it just a dream, then? He felt as if someone had just been in his room...

And not just anyone, but Remi.

Then again, why would Remi be here? Felix had told him in the letter that he had left behind that he would be in the Bloodmoon Pack, but he hadn’t disclosed where the Bloodmoon Pack was... And besides, even if Remi was a powerful witch, wouldn’t breaking into a supreme pack’s pack house be a bit too reckless? If he wanted Felix’s blood, or anything else, he could have contacted Kade. Or contacted Felix through Brielle. Remi and Brielle were friends, after all, and Felix hadn’t blocked her number or anything... So, getting in touch with him shouldn’t be too hard for the fox.

It really must have been a dream, then. Because of that odd fall earlier, he had a feeling that something magical might be at play, which made him think of Remi...

Felix took a deep breath, slowly exhaling, as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

...He really didn’t know how to feel. He should be glad that Remi hadn’t broken into his room to steal his blood... But then, what was it with that disappointment he felt?

He closed his eyes, about to go back to sleep...

But his nose was tingling. Because in the air, among the scents of the laundry detergent, the furniture, his own scent, Vivi’s scent, alcohol, and all the other scents that were characteristic of this room, there was a hint of jasmine.

A very familiar jasmine.

Not jasmine air freshener or jasmine-scented candle, or anything else, but Remi’s jasmine.

He instantly jumped out of bed, and started frantically looking around.

But everything looked just like before, there was not a trace of fox anywhere. Not in his room, not in the bathroom, not in the walk-in closet, and not even on the balcony...

Was he losing his mind? Has he now started to imagine the jasmine scent because he missed Remi?

He threw himself back on the bed with a heavy sigh.

Great. Amazing. As if he didn’t have enough on his mind, now he was starting to hallucinate?

Of course, it was also possible that Remi had truly been in his room, but escaped before Felix had woken up. With his abilities, it was possible. But then why had he come, if he hadn’t taken any blood? Why had he left without talking to Felix? And why had he left the lingering scent, without any other traces of his visit? He should have been able to conceal it with a spell...

All those questions spun around in Felix’s mind, keeping him awake...

...Or so he thought they would. But the next thing he knew, it was already bright outside, and someone was knocking on the door.

Judging by which door the sound was coming from, it was probably Kade.

"Come..."

’Come in,’ was what Felix wanted to say, but then he remembered it. He sniffed the air...

And he could smell the jasmine fragrance, still lingering.

If it was truly there, and it wasn’t just his imagination, that is.

Although Felix hadn’t finished the sentence, he had said ’come’ loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear. It was only natural for Kade to assume that it was Felix giving him the permission to enter - and he wasn’t even wrong, as it had been Felix’s initial intention. But now that he remembered about the scent...

He shot out of the bed, and rushed to the inner door at the record speed, just as the doorknob rotated, and the door was pushed open.

"He-hey!" Felix blocked the door frame with his body before Kade could walk in. "H-how are you feeling?"

Kade lifted his brows. The stutter and blocking the door frame aside, it was weird behavior, especially coming from Felix. And asking him how was he feeling? Why was Felix suddenly concerned about that? Not that Kade complained, but...

He looked over Felix’s head, scanning the room, as if looking for any explanation. At a glance, everything seemed normal...

And he didn’t get a chance to get a better look, because a moment later, he was pushed back into his own room, Felix following after him, and shutting the door behind them.

"...What’s going on?" he couldn’t help but ask.

"Nothing!" Felix quickly responded. "I’m just hungry! Should we go have breakfast?"

"Dressed like that?"

Felix glanced down at himself. He was still in his pajamas, of course...

But those were thick, winter pajamas, with long pants and long sleeves, not exposing in any way. Considering how some of the other Omegas wandered around the pack house, it wasn’t inappropriate in the slightest!

So, he shrugged his shoulders. "Why not?"

Kade looked him up and down. He didn’t mind Felix’s attire, it was just that his behavior was too odd... And,

"What about Vivi?"

"...Ah." Felix gasped. He was in such a rush to make sure that Kade didn’t notice the scent which may not have even existed, that he didn’t take Vivi with him. But he couldn’t leave his daughter behind, though, so he quickly said, "Just wait here a sec!"

Then, he charged back to his room, shutting the door behind himself as quickly as he could to ensure that Kade wouldn’t be able to smell anything suspicious.

Was it really necessary? Probably not. Even if Kade noticed the scent, it’s not like he would punish Felix for it! Nor could he do anything to Remi. And Felix could use Kade’s nose to confirm whether the scent was real...

But he instinctively wanted to hide any trace of Remi. Perhaps not out of fear as to what Kade might do...

And rather out of worry that if discovered, Remi might not visit him again.

Which was a ridiculous thing to worry about, honestly. Hadn’t it been Felix who decided to run away from Silverfall, leaving the fox behind? Then why was he now so eager to let Remi secretly sneak into his room? It made no sense...

Felix didn’t dwell on it, though. He just grabbed Vivi, and went back to Kade’s room.