CHAPTER 251: EXPIRATION DATE

Felix stared at the inside of the golden folded card. At the very bottom, it was clearly written ’Expiration Date: 12 May XXXX’.

It was clearly written there...

But somehow, it seemed out of place. He was almost sure that back when Lyla had presented the prizes on the last day of the tournament, before the semi-final matches started, there was nothing written at the bottom. Of course, he could have remembered wrong, as he had only briefly seen the inside from a distance... But he couldn’t escape the feeling that it was out of place.

Not to mention, it even looked like an afterthought. All the text on the card, explaining its usage, as well as the slots for seven names and dates where the voucher was going to be used, were printed. All the text, except for the expiration date, which was handwritten. And written with a somewhat disorderly hand. Pressing a bit too hard, as if the person writing it was angry or frustrated...

...Had Lyla written it after losing the final match? Once she knew that Felix would receive it, she quickly added an extra condition, limiting the time in which the voucher was valid to be used, to make sure that Felix wouldn’t be able to hold it over her head forever?

It was possible. Very likely even.

But Felix had no proof, so there was nothing he could do about it. And three months wasn’t even that unreasonable of a time period for it. With seven chances, that would mean Felix had close to two weeks for every single slot, at least initially. He had lost half of that time because he wasn’t aware of it...

That was on him, though. He should have taken a closer look at the voucher after receiving it. He had paid more attention to other prizes, since he was actually planning to use them... And he had already tested the spa set. As for the shopping voucher, he hadn’t used it yet, but he was going to eventually - it was already paid for, after all, so it would be a shame to waste it. But the favor voucher’s main use was to intimidate others with its existence, so Felix neglected looking into it... He also didn’t expect any traps there, since from the start, Lyla assumed that it would go to her.

It was his oversight, no matter how he looked at it.

There was no point getting frustrated at his own negligence, though. What was done was done, he already had lost so much time. Now, he had to start thinking about how to adjust his plans to the situation... The expiration date was already set, and he couldn’t let the voucher go to waste just because he couldn’t use it as a shield for the rest of his time in the Bloodmoon Pack!

"Um... Then I will be going first..."

Hearing Sophie’s mutter, Felix’s head instantly snapped up. "Wait!" he called out, but the Omega had already disappeared behind the hedges, running away as if she was being chased. Felix technically could run after her...

But he was with Vivi, so perhaps it wasn’t the best idea. He also didn’t want to cause a scene. Besides, he had a feeling that even if he caught her, he wouldn’t get any clear answers to his questions.

And he had a few of them. Sophie’s behavior had been odd from the start. It was somewhat understandable for her to feel nervous about approaching him, since none of the Bloodmoon Pack members really knew Felix well (with the exception of Kade, Cael, and Fen, of course), so she wouldn’t know what might set him off, and provoke him to use the favor voucher on her. Still, that didn’t seem to be the case, and it wouldn’t explain why she had been looking around as if she had been worried someone might notice her.

It seemed that she had come to inform Felix about the expiration date, and she wanted to do it in secret, without anyone knowing. At least that was Felix’s best guess.

But... why?

Sophie was one of Lyla’s close confidants. Or at least someone from her circle. That’s why she knew about the expiration date. It was unlikely that Lyla would want to spread the information to the whole pack, as it could reach Felix’s ears then, and it would be in her best interest for Felix NOT to realize that the voucher was about to expire in three months... Well, more like a month and a half now. If he didn’t know about it, he might not be able to use it in time. And eventually, the voucher would become invalid, and Felix would lose his chance...

Sending someone to let Felix know that the time was ticking simply didn’t make any sense.

Then what, had Sophie decided to betray Lyla? Or maybe she was just playing both sides... This way, no matter who would come on top in the future, she would be just fine... As long as she wasn’t caught by Lyla before that happened, of course.

Felix taped his lips with the corner of the golden card, lost in thought. Perhaps he should consider asking Remi to help him interrogate Sophie in the future... He didn’t mind if she didn’t fully join his side, as long as she was delivering him truthful information.

That was all for later, though. He had around six weeks left before the voucher expired, and seven day slots to use. That was a bit more than one ’favor’ day per week. Sophie’s issue could wait, he had to figure out on whom and how to use it to make the biggest impact. Strengthen his position, and perhaps get back at Lyla, but without appearing too overbearing...

Seven days was a lot, but at the same time, not that much. There was a limit to what he could do.

He stuffed the card back in his pocket, and pushed the pram, going to his workshop to clear his mind.