CHAPTER 232: DO YOU NOT TRUST OUR NANNIES?

Felix held back a sigh. Just as he thought, talking with Lyla was bound to be bothersome... However, he didn’t let that show on his face, and only lifted his brows, "I am honest. The pack house is so comfortable and spacious, what could I possibly be dissatisfied with?"

"Well... It’s just..." Lyla hesitated. Or pretended to do so. "You’ve been here for, what, more than three weeks now? But we hardly ever see you... You never come to any of our recreational spaces to hang out with us. I was worried that you might have trouble adjusting..."

Indeed, Felix hadn’t been stopping by any of the public spaces, save for coming to the dining room for the meals, and going for the walks in the garden. Other than that, he spent all of his time either in his room, or in the pottery workshop that Kade had set up for him. He hadn’t gone to the living room, nor the spa, nor the gym... Not even to the game room, although he was planning to do so soon, with either Kade, or Cael and Fen. They hadn’t done it yet simply because Kade had been rather busy these days, so the most they had done was play cards in his room with Cael and Fen.

However, unlike Lyla suggested, it wasn’t because Felix had ’trouble adjusting’ or anything like that. He was just... the way he had always been. Used to spending time alone, he didn’t even think of going to the living room to hang out with others. And the attitude the pack members, especially the young Omegas, had towards him, didn’t encourage him to do so either. No matter how sweet they tried to act now, it was clear that they weren’t welcoming.

But he couldn’t exactly say it out loud. Being branded as ’antisocial’ in a werewolf pack, when packs thrived on the sense of community, wouldn’t be anything good. He held back a sigh again, and smiled at Lyla.

"Oh, that’s not it at all!" he said. "It’s just that I’ve been spending most of my time taking care of my daughter..."

"We have nannies for that, you know?" Lyla immediately responded, as if she had already been prepared for this excuse. "There’s a nursery in this mansion where you can leave your pup at any time. Didn’t Young Master Kade tell you?"

Of course, Kade had. They had stopped by it when Kade had given him a tour of the pack house.

The corners of Felix’s lips twitched, but he maintained his cool. "I am aware. However, I prefer to take care of her on my own..."

Lyla barely let him finish the sentence, before cutting in, "Why? Do you not trust our nannies?"

She was still trying to maintain her sweet, polite, and considerate tone, but the question sounded almost accusatory.

Because it was. She was trying to suggest that Felix either looked down on the Bloodmoon Pack’s nannies, who were all Omegas and female Betas experienced in raising pups, or that he didn’t find them trustworthy. Both would naturally reflect badly on him, especially within the Bloodmoon Pack. How dare he think that their pack members are not good enough at their job?

"Of course that’s not it," Felix quickly corrected her. "Naturally, I think that all the nannies here are very competent. It’s just that..."

He was about to say that he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his daughter... But if he did, then wouldn’t that be taken as throwing shade at all the mothers who left their pups with the nannies? Which, of course, wasn’t his intention...

But the intentions didn’t matter. What mattered was how his words were perceived. And Lyla would certainly use anything she could, and spin it into something far worse than it was.

"It’s just that?" Lyla smiled, trying to get him to continue.

Felix could only press his lips tightly, as his mind was running fast, almost overheating. Since he had already started the sentence, dismissing it as nothing wouldn’t really work well... But no matter what excuse he thought of, it could be interpreted in the wrong way...

In the end, he just said, "It’s just that Kade didn’t really explain it to me well. He just arranged a nanny a few times when I had to leave Vivi behind, but he didn’t tell me much about the nursery... So I wasn’t sure if I could just drop our pup there."

Was he throwing Kade under the bus? Yes, kind of. But that didn’t matter. Even if he pushed all of the blame onto Kade, it’s not like anyone would say a single wrong word to him because of it. Besides, Felix also took on part of the responsibility - after all, if he didn’t know something, he should have asked! He was almost sharing a room with Kade, and he was so often seen eating breakfast and dinner with him, so he had more than plenty of opportunities to clear up anything he wasn’t sure about.

It was just a stupid excuse, of course. Felix knew exactly what he could and couldn’t do, at least as far as childcare was concerned. But even if Lyla and her group didn’t believe him, it’s not like they could accuse him of lying without any proof, now could they? It might only backfire on them! They weren’t the only pack members around, after all, and at least some of the witnesses were bound to take a neutral stance if any issue blew up, reporting what they had heard honestly.

That’s why Lyla smiled, and didn’t expose Felix. Instead, she said, "Oh, you don’t need to worry. As long as you live or work in the main mansion, you can leave your pup there whenever you want. You even SHOULD do it, actually! After all, your pup should learn to socialize with her peers, no?"

That wasn’t necessarily the case. Based on the research Felix had done online, babies generally started benefiting from the interaction with other babies when they became toddlers, that is after they turned 12 months old. There was no point mentioning it to Lyla, though - those were all human advice. When it came to werewolf packs, pups were frequently together right since their early days... If Felix cited his ’human’ knowledge here, he would only be laughed at.

So, he nodded his head. "You have a point... I’ll think about it."

Lyla’s eyes instantly narrowed at the word ’think’. That was such a non-committal answer! Some might have been satisfied with it, at least for the time being, but Lyla wasn’t the kind of person who would be happy with such a hollow result.

"You really should!" she said, staring Felix down to pressure him. "I have already planned some events that might help you integrate into the pack!"

Felix’s smile, which he had been able to maintain throughout this whole daunting conversation, finally faltered.

Lyla had already some ’events’ planned? Just as he expected, she hadn’t been staying quiet all this time because she got so scared that she pulled out... She was only taking her time to prepare!

And whatever she might have thought of, it couldn’t possibly be good for Felix...