CHAPTER 237: TABLE TENNIS LESSON

The pack house was still dark and quiet when Felix and Cael went to have their first training session the next day. It was still very early in the morning, just past 4 AM, long before breakfast. None of the pack members had even gotten up for their morning shifts just yet, well, perhaps aside from some of the kitchen staff and the bakers, but since the two of them didn’t pass by the kitchen, Felix didn’t know for sure.

As to why they were up so early, just to practice table tennis for the rather insignificant tournament organized for ’fun’ by Lyla? That was Cael’s idea. It wasn’t that he didn’t have any time during the day, but... If they went to the game room when the pack members were all up and awake, then there was no way they could do it without getting spotted. Even if Cael asked everyone out and locked the game room, it would be obvious what they were doing. And they would lose the element of surprise this way, or so Cael had said. It would be funnier if Lyla thought that Felix was completely unprepared, and then for Felix to strike back, displaying great... or at least decent skills.

Was that really necessary? Felix didn’t think so. But since that was Cael’s suggestion, then he had no reason to refuse. If Cael himself wanted to get up so early... And who knew, maybe he didn’t do it just for Felix’s or Kade’s sake. Perhaps he also wanted to do something against Lyla?

They walked down the stairs, and into the game room. It was empty at that time, although the faint scent of Alphas’ pheromones mixed with alcohol was still hanging in the air. It seemed that some of the pack members must have been playing games here until late at night.

Cael flipped the switch, and locked the door behind them. They didn’t want anyone coming to disturb them, or else what was the point of getting up so early?

"Alright. You’ve said that you’ve played before, right?" Cael asked to confirm, handing Felix one of the paddles. "Should we play a game or two first, then? I would like to see what we’re working with."

"Okay." Felix nodded in agreement. He accepted the paddle and the ball, took a place on one end of the table, and once they both were ready, he served the first ball.

Cael... was good. Very good. Just how good, Felix couldn’t quite tell, but much better than him, that’s for sure. He returned all the balls with ease, without even trying. He didn’t put too much effort into it, though, only matching Felix’s level, and sometimes returning a harder ball to challenge Felix a little bit more. That in itself was proof of his skill.

Which was a good thing, of course. If he were hardly better than Felix, then Felix couldn’t possibly hope to learn much from him, now could he?

"Alright, let’s pause here for a second." Eventually, Cael caught the ball, and circled the table to get to Felix’s side. "You’re not too bad, but there are a few things I noticed. First, when you serve..."

He started explaining all of Felix’s mistakes one by one, correcting his posture and his strokes, asking Felix to repeat the same action several times, until he could get it right. Felix listened carefully, obediently following all of the instructions...

"...You know, you’re far more cooperative than I expected," Cael said all of a sudden, almost startling Felix.

"H-huh?"

Where did that come from?

"Ah, sorry. Perhaps I didn’t word it well. What I meant is that I thought you’re the type that wants to do things your own way no matter what," Cael explained.

But Felix was still confused. Yes, he obviously liked to do things his own way, because who didn’t? But he had no problems cooperating. In fact, ever since he had come to the Bloodmoon Pack, he had hardly voiced his own opinions, and mostly adjusted to what the leader and the Luna expected of him...

Or so he thought. Could it be that he had misunderstood something, and had actually been acting out of line all this time?

Seeing his consternation, Cael quickly reassured him. "Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong," he said, as if guessing Felix’s thoughts. "It’s just that you never discuss your issues with any of us, and are unwilling to accept our help, so I thought..."

"Ah, that’s not it, that’s not it at all!" Felix rushed to explain himself. "I don’t want to be a bother, that’s why I prefer to solve all those minor issues on my own..."

"Hmm, I get it... But don’t you think that others might find your current behavior even more bothersome?"

"...What?" Felix blinked, looking up at Cael. He had absolutely no idea what the Omega was talking about.

"Well... For the people who care about you, it might be more bothersome when you hide problems from them and don’t accept their help... Or, perhaps ’bothersome’ is not the right word. It just makes people worry even more about you, you know?"

"...Huh." Felix paused, lowering his head, and staring blankly at the paddle in his hand. He... never thought about it that way. There hadn’t been many people who cared about him in his life, so that wasn’t something he ever had to face. Back in the Moonhill Pack... There was his mother, of course, but she was always sick and often bed-bound, ever since Felix could remember. And he hid things from her even when he was being bullied. However, since she had already been worried plenty about him because of their situation within the pack, he couldn’t tell whether his hiding things made things any better or worse for her. As for the others... There had been Tyler, but Felix didn’t even want to think about the Beta now, if whatever they had had even been genuine.

So, he never really thought that way. But looking at it from the other side... If someone he cared about hid things from him, he would surely be worried.

That’s why he had been so concerned when Remi had been hiding his condition from him, after all...

Cael observed him for a while, as Felix mulled over what he had just been told. Then, he let out a quiet sigh, and interrupted the silence, snapping Felix out of his thoughts,

"Let’s play another game. Try to put what I’ve just taught you into practice!"