CHAPTER 259: HEALTH CONCERNS

After leaving the guest house, Felix went straight to his room. He didn’t even feel like going to his pottery workshop, even though it usually helped him clear his mind when he had a lot to think about. He just picked Vivi up from the nanny, went to his room, and threw himself on the bed to stare blankly at the ceiling.

That wasn’t how it all was supposed to go.

Felix didn’t have any high expectations. He had never hoped for much. Unless being able to have a peaceful and quiet life was considered ’much’. But that was all that he really wanted. He didn’t want to be a Luna of any pack. He didn’t wish for status, power, or money. He didn’t care for his father’s approval either...

But it wasn’t just about what he wanted. He could give up on learning the truth and reject his father’s ’offer’ (if you could call it that) to come back to the Moonhill Pack, but if Wilder was determined to bring him back, then who knows how it would go? Perhaps he had solid arguments to convince Kade’s parents. Actually, it was almost certain that he had - that damned fated mate bond between Felix and Jared that refused to be broken was already a solid argument. Wilder had no proof of it, since the fated bond was hard to prove, but Felix wasn’t sure if he would dare to lie to Einar and Lorelei if they had asked him about it directly. And if they decided that Felix should go back to the Moonhill Pack... Then Felix would have no choice but to follow their orders.

Or leave. Run away again and go rogue. That was, naturally, also an option.

Except that it wasn’t a GOOD option, not right now, not when Vivi was still so little. It would be hard to provide his daughter with good care when on the run. He wouldn’t be able to return to Silverfall, since that hideout of his was already discovered... And nowhere else was safe either, not really. If he could have been spotted by someone in Silverfall, and have his whereabouts reported to the Moonhill Pack, then there was no saying it wouldn’t happen again somewhere else. His ’missing’ status might have been withdrawn, but if he disappeared again, another announcement could be posted...

Of course, there was also a possibility that Kade’s parents would still take his side and be willing to support him, even if not for consideration for him, but at least for Kade’s sake... But Felix didn’t want to put too much hope on that. It could only lead to disappointment.

He let out a sigh, unconsciously reaching his hand to rub the soft head of the fox that was clinging to his side. It all felt so overwhelming...

But for once, he didn’t really regret coming to the Bloodmoon Pack. After all, even if he had stayed in Silverfall, he would have had to face his father eventually - that’s what he had discussed with ’Jared’ during his ’visit’ to the town. He had told the Alpha to inform Wilder, so that he would come meet with Felix personally, and they would come to an agreement then. Now that he thought of it, he was glad that he didn’t have to face his father alone.

Wilder was far more difficult to handle than Felix had thought he would be. It seemed that he underestimated the man. Or overestimated himself... The biggest problem was that he didn’t understand his father’s motives.

He lay like that, staring blankly at the ceiling and petting Remi, listening to the fox’s purring and to Vivi’s steady breathing, as the pup slept soundly in her crib, completely unaware of the turmoil her mother was currently in.

It was only two or three hours later that the sound of the knocking coming from the inner door finally came.

"Come in," He said, lifting himself up, and causing Remi to roll off of him. The fox scoffed, throwing Felix a disapproving look, but still climbed back onto him, this time taking a spot on his lap, just in time to stop Felix from getting up.

And just in time for the door to open, and for Kade to walk in. He immediately noticed the red ball of fur, curled up on Felix’s lap, as the Omega sat on the edge of the bed, and his eyes twitched...

But he refrained from commenting on it, and instead smiled at Felix.

"Hey, how’s your day going? Want to go grab dinner now?" he asked, trying to act casual, as if it was the most normal day ever. However, there was a hint of unease in his purple black eyes, and his usually wide grin was slightly crooked, which betrayed his emotions.

"Dinner? Now?" Felix repeated, lifting his brows. "It’s still rather early, and we had lunch late."

"Yes, but... You hardly ate anything," Kade pointed out.

"Did I?" Felix didn’t remember. All he remembered from the lunch was his father talking. He was sure that he ate something and drank something... But what it was, and how much he ate, he truly couldn’t recall. Seeing his father’s face, and hearing everything he had to say, completely deprived him of any appetite. And even now... "I’m not hungry, though."

"Tut, tut, tut," Kade shook his head, walking over to Felix. With one smooth move, he leaned down, grabbed Remi by the neck, and tossed him aside. Onto the bed behind Felix rather than on the ground, but still. Then, he grabbed Felix by the hand, and pulled him up to his feet, dragging him towards the door. "Even if you don’t feel hungry, you have to eat!"

Felix rolled his eyes. Yes, he was aware that skipping meals wasn’t unhealthy... But it’s not like he hadn’t eaten ANYTHING, or that he wasn’t going to eat dinner at all... He might still get hungry later... He was about to protest, when he suddenly remembered something.

"Ah, right. I should eat well, otherwise it might lead to my HEALTH declining, right?"

It was seemingly a normal thing to say, but it was actually a pointed remark, said to elicit a reaction.

And it worked. Kade flinched at the word ’health’.

"Ah, yes," he forced out a laugh, trying to cover it up. "Proper meals are important to your health. You should never neglect them, even if you don’t have any health issues."

"And especially if I used to have health issues, right?"

Kade paused, still holding onto Felix’s hand. He hesitated briefly, considering whether it was better to be honest, or if he should make up some excuse, for example mentioning Felix’s weakened state from when they had first met, when Felix had been underweight and anemic...

In the end, though, honesty won. It was better in the long term, if he wanted his future cute little mate to truly become his cute little mate in the future.

"Well, yeah. Of course, you should take care of yourself no matter what, but it’s even more important not to neglect your health if you have had problems before," he said.

"So you admit that you’ve known about it?"

"...Yes."

"Oh. Alright," Felix nodded his head.

"...Just this?" Kade blinked, confused, finally looking back at him. "You’re not angry or anything?"

"What’s there to be angry about?" Felix shrugged his shoulders in response. "I already knew that you went to the Moonhill Pack to investigate. It was to be expected that you would hear about it."

"Right." Kade went silent for a moment. Felix had never mentioned it, so he thought that it was a sensitive topic... But then again, he had never really said much about his past, so it wasn’t necessarily that his health was a particularly touchy subject... It was hard to tell, honestly. Felix generally didn’t talk about himself much, unless specifically asked, so there was only one way to check. Kade thought about it for a moment, before slowly asking, "I’ve heard you used to be weak, and that your mother’s side of the family was also sickly... But I don’t know any details. What conditions did you suffer from?"

"Well... I don’t know," Felix sighed with a shrug.

Kade stared at him intently for a while, waiting for Felix to elaborate. And when Felix didn’t, he carefully added, "You don’t have to tell me if you’re uncomfortable. It’s just that... You should at least discuss it with a doctor. I can even take you to a doctor outside if you don’t trust the confidentiality of our pack’s doctors... But even if you’re doing alright, you should still be careful. Get regular checkups, to ensure that your condition is not getting worse, and..."

"That’s not it," Felix cut him off. "It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, and I don’t mind doing checkups. It’s just that... There truly wasn’t any particular health condition. I was just... weak, that’s all. And my mother as well."

"...Are you trying to tell me that your mother had passed away simply from being ’weak’?" Kade couldn’t help but ask.