CHAPTER 216: SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

The difference was subtle. So subtle, that Felix couldn’t quite figure out where it even came from.

The furniture was all still in place. The bed was done. Not the way Felix had done it, but fixed by the maid, but it had already been that way when he had come back from breakfast, so it didn’t count. The pillows were spread on the sofas, the curtains were open, and the toys were scattered on the play mat on the floor. The lighting had changed, since it was natural when Felix had left, and now the room was filled with the artificial light from the fancy, modern ceiling lamps... But that shouldn’t have been the problem, since it wasn’t the first time he returned to his room after dark, and he had never before had such an odd feeling.

It was like those ’Spot the Difference’ games, except that the difficulty was maxed, and he didn’t have the second picture to compare, only relying on his memories.

He hugged Vivi tighter to his chest, and slowly stepped into the room, looking around and sniffing.

There was no one around. As for any lingering scents... Felix also didn’t notice anything odd. Except for... Perhaps the jasmine scent was a bit stronger? It was still rather subtle, though, so it could be just his imagination.

But it was also possible that it wasn’t. Perhaps Remi had been here? If so, then perhaps he had left traces other than his scent this time? Maybe moved something ever so slightly... Maybe not even on purpose, but by accident?

Once he realized that the culprit was probably Remi, Felix’s shoulders unconsciously relaxed. Although the fox currently meant danger for Felix - because of the curse, there was a risk he might cast a spell on him, or even claim his life eventually - somehow, he was also a comforting presence. Why it was that way, was something that Felix didn’t want to dwell on. He just walked over to the crib to put Vivi down, so that he could focus on inspecting the room...

And he spotted the first difference.

There was a large bulge under the blanket in the crib.

Felix’s heart skipped a beat. He gulped loudly, and slowly leaned down, grabbing the corner of the blanket... Only to lift it up in one swift move.

There was a fox underneath!

...A plush fox. Scented with jasmine pheromones.

Felix’s whole body slouched like a deflated balloon. He was half-disappointed, half-relieved. Relieved because he still didn’t know what to do with Remi... And disappointed because he wanted to see the fox again, despite it all.

Still, the plush fox was not Vivi’s toy. It couldn’t have been a surprise present from Kade, either - why would the Alpha buy the pup a plush fox? Not to mention, the pheromones... It was clearly Remi’s scent, without a doubt.

Well, at least Felix now had the confirmation that he wasn’t going insane. When he put Vivi down in the crib, the pup clung to the plush fox, hugging it tightly, so it couldn’t possibly be a hallucination, right?

Felix sighed, and stretched his back, taking another look around the room, to see if there were any more traces left. He approached the scattered toys...

But no. All the toys on the floor were the toys that Vivi already had before. They seemed to have been moved a bit, but it didn’t seem intentional... More like someone accidentally displaced them when walking around the room. And even then, Felix wasn’t sure. He left the toys randomly scattered, after all, so they were messy to begin with...

He took another look, but the rest of the room seemed to be untouched. Was it just the plush fox, then?

It would appear so...

All of a sudden, Felix felt a bit jealous of Vivi. He would also like a jasmine-scented fox to cuddle...

’Wait, what?’

His eyes widened, and his face turned pale, horrified at his own thoughts. He wanted a fox to cuddle? Just what he was thinking! Even if he wanted to, he had no right to complain, since he left Remi on his own! For a good reason, yes, but still! It was his own decision.

He scolded himself mentally for letting his thoughts run wild again, and crouched down on the play mat, picking up the toys. It was getting late, so no more playing on the floor. He would read Vivi a book next...

He had tidied up the room, both the floor, and all the pillows, all the clothes in the walk-in closet, and all the toiletries in the bathroom. Just to organize everything, not because he was looking if there was perhaps any gift or hint for him hidden anywhere else! Which there wasn’t...

Or so he thought. It was only when he approached the bookshelf to pick a book for Vivi that he noticed another difference.

Most of his books had been replaced!

Gone were the romances between poor Omegas and powerful Alphas. Instead, there was a selection of... fox romances. Primarily with fox spirits. Perhaps that was more popular among humans, and fox shifters didn’t have a large enough community to print their own books.

Even Vivi’s children’s books weren’t spared. While Remi had left all the books that Felix and Kade had bought for the girl, he had sneaked a few more children’s books featuring foxes in between them.

It was truly a very foxy library! To think that Remi had gathered so many books about foxes, especially romances...

Felix scanned the titles...

"Huh?"

He couldn’t help but pause, as he noticed something... odd about some of the books. Like this one, for example...

’Snatched by a billionaire fox’

’A hot romance between a rogue Omega and a rich, powerful fox!’

Felix had an intense feeling of deja vu. He pulled the book out from the bookshelf, and flipped through it...

Just as he thought, it wasn’t a book about a fox. Rather, it was one of the werewolf romances Kade had bought for him. Only that some of the words were replaced, so that the original male lead was no longer a powerful Alpha wolf, but a fox! The story made no sense this way, and the book became even more ridiculous...

But Felix didn’t mind. Rather, he couldn’t stop the corners of his lips from rising up. Of course, he still had no intention of reading the book, but... He had to admit, it was rather amusing.