CHAPTER 240: FAVOR VOUCHER

What?

For a moment, Felix’s mind went blank.

A seven-day favor voucher? To be used on anyone in the pack?

Just... what?

"...Did you get anyone’s permission to do that?" he couldn’t help but ask.

For the vouchers to be valid on everyone, she would have had to either ask the leader or the Luna... But from what Felix could tell about Kade’s parents, it didn’t seem like either of them would agree to such a ridiculous request... Or would they?

It seemed that they wouldn’t - or Lyla hadn’t even asked - because the young woman’s eyes narrowed. "Why, is that a problem? If our Young Master Felix asks, then surely no one would refuse to become a part of this prize, right?"

Ah, so there it was. The trap for him.

First possible meaning: ’Surely you can execute at least this much authority, right?’

If he were to ask, and the person chosen by the owner of the voucher were unwilling to participate, that might undermine Felix’s status.

Second possible meaning: ’If you ask Kade, then he won’t refuse, right?’

Perhaps Lyla was trying to use the voucher to score herself a few dates with Kade, to try to seduce him.

Third possible meaning: ’Do you dare to accept it?’

Lyla might want to use it to order Felix around, bring him down, potentially humiliate him.

Or it could be a combination of all three things.

"Is there anything wrong?" Lyla smiled at Felix sweetly. "Oh, of course, the favors will have to be within reason. Nothing illicit is allowed. Anything like asking for marriage, marking, intimate relations, or humiliating requests is also forbidden. It’s just all fun and games!"

Since she mentioned it, it showed that the thoughts might have crossed her mind. But even if Felix agreed, if Lyla, or anyone, tried to force anyone into a marriage or intimate relationship with a favor voucher, then the leader and the Luna would surely intervene, so it was stupid to even consider it!

Still, ’no humiliating requests’ condition was hardly reassuring. Felix wasn’t worried about what would happen if Lyla dragged Kade around on dates, but there were plenty of ways for her to humiliate him while making it too subtle to be able to voice any reasonable complaints...

Not getting any answer from Felix, Lyla put on a worried expression. "Oh, does our Young Master Felix dislike the prize I prepared? Sigh, how unfortunate... After I put so much effort into coming up with it..."

Felix bit his lip. All eyes were on him. Especially the other two finalists, they were glaring at him as if they wanted to burn him into ash with their stares. If he refused Lyla’s idea, he would be seen as a killjoy... Which wasn’t the worst, but still. In this already unfriendly environment, anything negative would only make the atmosphere more suffocating.

He quickly glanced around, but Cael still wasn’t there. Too bad. If he were, he probably would have been able to solve the situation without any issues...

But Felix was on his own now. So, he let out a quiet sigh, and forced a smile. "I was just a little surprised, that’s all. The idea sounds quite fun, though!"

Lyla’s smile widened. "Great! Let’s start, then!"

She put the prizes back on the table, and stepped forward with her paddle in her hand. Her match was the first. And the person she was facing against was one of her friends...

Or so she thought. But judging by the fact that her smile soon faltered, her so-called friend didn’t quite follow the plan. Perhaps the other Omega was so tempted by the main prize, that she decided to go against Lyla seriously...

Not that it made that much of a difference. In the end, Lyla was the one to win the match. It was just that she had to put a little bit more effort than she had expected, thus she ended up a bit more tired. But she had Felix’s whole match to take a rest, so it was fine.

Then, Felix’s turn came. Cael... was still not there. Not that it mattered, now - it’s not like he could assist Felix during the match, and Felix didn’t care about moral support either. All he had to do was to focus all of his attention on the match...

Because he wanted to win. He didn’t care before, but now that he knew what the main prize was, he didn’t want it to fall into Lyla’s hands. Yes, he had agreed to accept it as the prize himself, even though technically he could have argued with the woman... But still. If Lyla ended up using even one of the days on him...

Felix took a deep breath, and looked at his opponent. If he remembered correctly, his name was Julien, and he was an unmated Omega three or four years older than him... And he didn’t seem to be a part of Lyla’s group. It was a bit surprising, since Felix expected Lyla to only allow people from her circle to reach the semi-finals... But then again, there was a limit to how much she could control without resorting to blatant cheating.

If Julian could make it this far with his own ability, though, then that probably meant that his skills were rather good...

Felix gripped his paddle tighter, as he bent his knees, lowering his stance, his eyes focusing on the white ball in Julien’s hand. The Omega lazily tossed it up in the air a few times, catching it effortlessly...

Then, all of a sudden, he tossed the ball with a bit more force. In the blink of an eye, his languid and relaxed attitude abruptly changed, and he practically smashed his paddle into the ball, sending it Felix’s way with full force.

It happened so fast. Even though Felix was trying to focus, his mind was still all over the place. With all the music in the background, all the chatter, all the scents filling the air, all the eyes on him, and all the thoughts running through his head, he was somewhat distracted. His reflexes were still great, but that didn’t change the fact that he missed a fraction of a second after Julien had served. And although he rushed to receive the ball, that fraction of a second made too much of a difference. The ball brushed against the tip of his paddle...

And the match started with him almost immediately losing a point.