CHAPTER 227: COMPLICATIONS

...Nothing.

Felix clearly heard the words, but he felt absolutely nothing.

Which, from the experience, he already knew didn’t bode well.

Still, Jared had said the words on his own this time. Coerced by Lorelei’s subtle threat, yes, but not under any spell. He had opened his mouth and moved his tongue on his own, saying the words Felix most wanted to hear, simply because he understood that he had no other choice. And the fact that he was actually unwilling to break the bond? That shouldn’t have mattered! Back then, Kade also hadn’t wanted to do it, and yet it worked just fine.

So, clinging to this hope, Felix said, "I accept your rejection."

"Gasp!" A sharp breath escaped his throat.

...Not from the pain, as it should have. But rather, from the shock.

Nothing had changed. Absolutely nothing. There was still the fated bond tugging on him, pulling him towards Jared... And he could tell that Jared could feel it as well, as there was a mix of surprise and elation on the Alpha’s face.

But the bond was just between the two of them. No one else could tell.

"Now that it’s over with, let’s finish here for today," Einar announced. "Mr. Thorne, thank you for your cooperation. Please make sure to follow through on all of your promises as soon as you return to your pack."

Jared blinked a few times, still struggling to comprehend the situation. He muttered almost absentmindedly, "Yes, of course. Thank you for your time, Mr. Blackstone..."

No one found his behavior weird. After all, he had just broken his fated mate bond, it was only natural he would act off.

No one also found anything odd in Felix’s behavior. Felix was clearly distressed, opening and closing his mouth like a fish... But the rejection was said to be painful for Omegas. No one knew how exactly it would affect Felix, even if he wanted it himself.

No one but Kade, who had already seen the effect that breaking the bond should have on Felix. It might have been possible for the reaction to differ a bit, since it was his second time, and his relationship with Jared was very different, but the discrepancy between his reactions back then and now was just too great to dismiss it as nothing!

He glanced between Felix and Jared, quickly piecing things together.

"I..." Felix opened his mouth again, this time finally letting out a sound. Before he could say anything, though, he was swept away into Kade’s arms, and lifted from his seat.

"Felix is not feeling great, I will take him to rest," Kade announced, barely waiting for his father to nod in agreement before rushing out of the room.

"No, wait!" Felix protested, tugging on his collar. "We need to-"

"Hush," Kade interrupted him. "We’ll talk in a sec."

There were guards in the hallway. And if he were right about what was going on, then he didn’t want anyone to overhear! He quickened his pace, almost breaking into run, trying to get away from people as soon as possible, before Felix could blurt out...

"We need to try once again!"

...Yeah, that.

Kade glanced around, letting out a sigh of relief. At least there wasn’t anyone around. He found an empty room that wasn’t currently being used for anything, and there, he finally put Felix down, pressing him against the wall.

"It didn’t work, huh?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"...It didn’t," Felix admitted. Although he hadn’t recovered from the shock yet, somehow, being pressed against the wall, with Kade all over him, completely blocking his view, he felt a bit calmer... Perhaps it was because of the sandalwood fragrance the Alpha emitted, which helped him breathe right. "That’s why we need to make him say it again..."

Something had clearly gone wrong. Felix didn’t know what, but leaving like that wouldn’t help him find an answer. They had to try again, and again, or else...

"Do you think trying again would change anything?"

"Huh?" Felix paused, surprised by the question. He looked up into Kade’s purple black eyes... The Alpha might have been calm on the surface, but he was clearly just as disturbed by the situation as Felix was.

But... He had a point. Felix didn’t want to admit it, but even he realized that trying the same thing over and over again was pointless. Just like it hadn’t worked when Jared was under the spell, it was unlikely to work now, unless they were able to solve the issue that prevented the bond from being broken first...

Still, that was the only thing he could think of. So, even though he knew it was probably pointless, he still wanted to give it a try...

And shouldn’t Kade want to do this as well? He claimed that he wanted Felix to be his mate, so shouldn’t he also be desperate to end that damned fated mate bond that Felix shared with Jared? So why was he stopping Felix now? Felix glared at Kade...

But Kade only sighed, and leaned forward, burying his head in Felix’s neck.

"I guess we will need to find a way to secretly dispose of him," he muttered. "Well, it works out fine. I wanted to do it anyway..."

...Well, yeah, there was also that option. They shouldn’t harm Jared while he was staying in the Bloodmoon Pack, but if something were to happen to the man after he had already returned to the Moonhill Pack, then it wouldn’t be their fault, right? And once Jared was dead, his bond with Felix would naturally be broken. It would cause Felix a lot of pain, but it’s not like he would die from it or anything...

Felix let out a long sigh.

"Well, alright, but... Can you move now?" He pushed on Kade’s shoulder, but Kade only ended up wrapping his arms around Felix’s waist in response, and pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Let’s keep it a secret for now, though, alright?" he muttered. "I don’t want anyone to know the rejection didn’t work..."

Felix went silent again. Kade... had a point. It wouldn’t do him any good if the information were to spread.

Was there anything such as an unbreakable bond? He didn’t know... But if people had heard about it, then it would be much harder for Felix to stay...