Like the Mutt That I Am

The rest of the meal passed in silence.

Or at least Felix pretended that it did, focusing solely on chewing and swallowing the food. 

As for that chatter spoken by someone nearby with a low, velvety voice? It was nothing but a background noise!

With this annoyingly pleasant accompaniment he struggled to pay no attention to, Felix finished his generous serving of the stew, cleaning off the plate from the leftover sauce with a piece of bread, and leaned back in his seat, patting his stomach with a satisfied sigh. 

"I must say, for someone so small, you sure can eat!" Kade's amused voice finally broke through Felix's mental barrier, instantly turning his blissful expression into a scowl.

"Complaining now? Who was it that wanted to… What was that again? Ah, fatten me up?"

Resting his chin on his intertwined hands, Kade chuckled, and leaned over the table, observing Felix with his dark eyes curved into crescents. "I was! But I also remember you saying that you liked looking gaunt?"

"Hmph, whatever," Felix shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like I'm going to gain weight from just one meal!"

"Then it seems like I will have to dine and wine you more often!"

Felix responded with just a scoff and rolled his eyes, before closing them for a moment, as he rested his head on the backrest. He was so full he didn't feel like moving…

He would have to gain some weight, actually. Kade was right, he was rather gaunt. He was already slender to begin with, and being on the run, with insufficient food, stress, and then the morning sickness on top of that, he got visibly thinner… It wouldn't be good for him or his pup to carry on this way.

But it didn't mean he was going to keep on dining with Kade! He'd deal with it on his own!

Supporting himself on the table, Felix dragged himself up to his feet with a sigh. It was already late and he was getting sleepy, but he still had to get back home…

"Want to go to bed now?"

"Mn," Felix hummed absentmindedly, heading toward the exit.

"Alright! I have a double bed in my room, so there's plenty-"

"My bed at home," Felix clicked his tongue, as his mind caught up to the new nonsense Kade, trailing right behind him, was spouting.

"Alright then, I guess we can-"

"Not 'we'. Just 'me'," once again, Felix interrupted Kade with an exasperated sigh. Did this man never get tired?

"Eeeeh?" Kade's voice dripped with disappointment. Real or fake, Felix couldn't even tell anymore. "How cruel. Well, that's fine. I'll just give you a ride like a responsible mate I am…"

His whining caused Felix to lift his eyes up to the sky… that is, the hotel's ceiling, as he called out in his mind, 'Really? Really? Dear Moon Goddess, what sins did I commit that you've mated me with such a drama queen?'

He paused and turned around to face Kade, twisting his mouth in a very obviously fake smile, his hand already on the handle. "No, thanks!" I like walking."

And Kade answered with a wide grin. "Well, I like driving!" 

"Then go for a drive on your own!" Felix snapped, as he slammed the front door in Kade's face.

And so Kade did. At a snails… That is, Felix's pace. Right by his side.

A car every now and then got stuck behind him, the poor drivers trying to get through the town honking madly at Kade. But they all got promptly ignored, and had to overtake him eventually, passing him by with screeching of their tires.

Felix tried his best to ignore it. He looked ahead, pretending that Kade wasn't there. That his fancy black car wasn't invisible, blending into the night.

But how long could he keep at it? In the battle of patience, he spectacularly lost to Kade.

"Are you going to be like that the whole way?!" he finally snapped, around halfway through.

"Hmmm," Kade hummed, his lips slowly curving into a grin. "Not if you join me!"

Once again, Felix lifted his eyes up to the sky, asking Moon Goddess 'Why?'…

And then, he crossed the street and got into the car.

"Just drive at a normal speed now!"

Kade laughed, and obediently sped up… Only to make a U-turn immediately after.

"Hey?!" Felix's reflexively clutched to his seatbelt. "That's not the way to my house!"

"It is."

"Is not! Are you trying to kidnap me or something?!"

"Why immediately 'kidnap'." Kade shook his head with a playful roll of his eyes. "I am taking you home. I'm just… taking a longer route. Don't you want to spend more time with me?"

"Hah? Why would I?" Felix scoffed.

"Because you love me, of course!"

"…Hah?" For a second, Felix just stared at Kade in disbelief. Was it just him, or was the Alpha's nonsense getting more and more nonsensical by the minute? 

"I obviously don't," he clarified coldly. Was it even something that needed to be clarified?

It seemed that yes, it needed to be clarified even more than he had already done, because Kade responded with a short, but confident "Yet."

Speechless. Felix was utterly speechless.

In the end, he decided it was no point continuing the conversation. He turned his gaze out of the window, wanting to just wait it out until he could get home…

But the song playing on the radio didn't even get to come to an end before Kade started bothering him again.

"You haven't even asked me how I liked the meal you cooked," he pointed out.

And got ignored.

"Would you perhaps like to get a full, in-depth review? I can give it a thought overnight and present it to you over dinner tomorrow…"

Felix gritted his teeth, but still endured.

"Or perhaps would you prefer-"

"I didn't ask because I don't care," he snapped, rubbing his aching head. "I don't give refunds."

"Pfft!" Kade burst out laughing. "Don't worry, once you join the pack, you won't have to cook anymore!" he soon reassured. "We have professional chefs for that."

…Now Felix felt a bit offended. Sure, he wasn't a super experienced cook, and compared to the dishes Kade usually had, it must have tasted only so-so… But Kade was the one to ask for it in the first place! And now he dares to dislike?!

Well, he didn't actually say he disliked it, but still.

Felix harrumphed, and shifted in his seat, turning his head to the side as much as he could to hide his sulking expression… That is, not to see Kade.

But it was night, unfortunately. The inside of the car was reflected in the window, so he still couldn't escape the sight of Kade's indecently handsome face… What made it worse was that the Alpha was constantly throwing him quick glances, and at times, Felix felt as if their eyes met, and his heart almost kind of skipped a beat…

Why couldn't that stupid Alpha just keep his eyes on the road?! Or better yet, take Felix home already?!

"By the way," Kade's velvety voice sounded out again, disturbing Felix's internal rant. "Why are you scratching your neck so much? Do you have some sort of allergy?"

"Huh?" Felix blinked, his hand momentarily pausing.

He was indeed scratching his neck, without even realizing it. It had been so itchy the past few days…

That's right, he was just supposed to buy some bed bug spray or something. There's been so much going on that he completely forgot…

"Oh, it's just…" All of a sudden, Felix's eyes widened, as an idea hit him. "I just have fleas, like the stray mutt that I am!"

"…What?" For the first time since they'd met, there was a hint of genuine unease in Kade's voice. He glanced at Felix, unconsciously scooting over to the side, as if trying to get as far away from Felix as possible… "Are you serious?"

"Well, yeah." Felix shrugged his shoulders, suppressing his grin. "It happens."

"Uh…" Kade shifted in his seat once again.

As expected, even he was wary of pesky bugs!

It was likely no coincidence that only a few minutes later, Kade pulled over in front of Felix's house.

"Ahem, well. Take care of yourself," he said, putting on a smile, even though he was all shifty.

Heh.

Felix smiled with satisfaction, jumping out of the car and rushing straight to the door. The deer and the rabbits were still there, and so was the fox, hiding underneath the porch, but Felix just quickly got in and shut the door. Only when the sound of the car engine faded away in the distance, did he open the door again.

"Remi, come here!" he called. "I have a gift for you!"

The fox stuck his head out, blinking as it gazed up at Felix with confusion.

"I'm gonna call you Remi from now on, okay?" Felix suggested. Since the fox was bent on sticking with him, might as well name it, instead of just calling it 'stupid fox' all the time. "Since you kept guard well, you can have the rest of that rabbit!" he tossed the meat to the fox, dragged the rest inside, and threw himself on the bed.

It had been such a long, tiresome day, that he instantly fell asleep.