I Would Rather Be a Rogue [BL]
Chapter 153: The Pup in the Crib

Chapter 153: The Pup in the Crib

Their presences were all concealed. Because of the spell that was always on them, people couldn’t sense them easily, not even if they were werewolves...

Felix had been sensed because of the fated mate bond.

Remi had been noticed because he attacked Jared.

But Vivi? Vivi had been sleeping peacefully in her crib. Jared couldn’t sense or smell any other presence in the room. And because his attention had been all on Felix and the fox biting him, he had failed to notice this odd piece of furniture.

Until Vivi started crying, that is.

"Waah! Waaah! Waah!"

Startled wails filled the room, as the little pup was suddenly woken up from her sleep. She was too little, naturally she had no idea what was going on, but she instinctively felt that something was wrong. She smelled the blood, and the fear and anxiety in Felix’s scent...

As well as the scent of the intruder.

Jared might have been Vivi’s biological father, but he was still a stranger to her.

Jared’s eyes narrowed, staring at the crib, as if he had only just realized it was there. He had seen it earlier, of course, from the corner of his eye, but his brain hadn’t fully registered it. It was nothing more than a piece of furniture...

Or was it?

Now that he had heard the wailing, this random object became clear. It was a crib, and in the crib, there must be a pup...

All the blood drained from Felix’s face. Suddenly he thought that being kidnapped by Jared wasn’t all that bad! If only Jared could take only him away... With Remi and Brielle, his pup would surely be taken care of until Felix could escape, or until Felix came for help...

"What are you waiting for?" he asked Jared, trying to suppress the shaking of his voice, and failing. "Aren’t you taking me back to the pack?"

But Jared ignored him. Yes, he was still planning to take Felix with him...

He was not in a rush, though. Now that he had noticed the pup’s presence, he naturally had to investigate... Before Felix even finished talking, he had already turned around, and gone back to the bedroom, approaching the crib.

The little girl was lying on her back, wailing miserably. Her face was all red, and she was throwing her tiny limbs around, so much so that she had already kicked off her blanket.

There was no question as to whose daughter it was. Even if it wasn’t for the fact that no one else seemed to live in this house aside from Felix and the fox - Jared could tell that much by the scent in the air. Not to mention, the house was rather small - the pup’s resemblance to Felix was clear enough not to leave room for any doubts.

As for the father of the pup...

"How old is she?" Jared simply asked, calculating something in his mind.

Felix bit his lip, also doing the calculations. It was the end of the year now. Felix had gotten pregnant in mid-October the previous year. If Vivi hadn’t been born prematurely, she would have been five months old now. So...

"Four months old," he muttered.

But Jared only let out a mirthless chuckle in response. "She looks a little big for a four-month-old."

Felix gritted his teeth. What did Jared even know about pups?

Not much, actually. As an Alpha, and the leader of the pack on top of that, taking care of pups wasn’t among his responsibilities. He had never shown any interest in pups either, aside from wanting to have his own in the future. Since he still had no offspring (at least as far as he was aware of), though, he naturally also had no experience. How could he possibly judge whether a pup was four, five, or six months old? Even an experienced carer might not be able to tell accurately, as pups could have different growth rates!

So, when he said, "She seems to be five and a half months old," it was nothing more than a guess.

And a wrong guess, at that. Vivi was six and a half months old now. But Felix couldn’t use it as an argument, since whether she was five and a half or six months old, that would still point to the same... sperm donor.

Thus, Felix could only stick to his story, "You need to have your eyes checked. She’s clearly still very little. Actually, she’s quite small even for a four-month-old..."

Jared glanced at Felix, who was still hanging over his shoulder. "So your pregnancy went on for that long? It must have been hard on you!" His voice was full of sarcasm. It was clear he didn’t believe a single word and was only mocking Felix.

And Felix could naturally tell. After knowing each other for so many years, despite how bad their relationship was - or perhaps precisely because of it? - they were extremely familiar with each other.

It had been a losing battle for Felix from the start. But he still insisted, "Not at all. Actually, Vivi had been born before term."

With difficulty, he finally managed to free himself from Jared’s grip. He staggered a few steps back, before regaining his balance...

They stared at each other in the dark room, measuring each other with their eyes. Vivi was still crying in her crib, almost within Felix’s reach... He wanted nothing more but to console her, but with Jared in front of him, he didn’t dare to move an inch, his eyes focused on the Alpha, ready to react the moment he made a wrong step...

Jared didn’t move either. Unlike Felix, who was all tense, he was far more at ease. Perhaps not relaxed - his eyes were still narrowed and shone with a dangerous glint - but simply confident. Although Felix had slipped away from his grip, he wasn’t in the slightest bit concerned... After all, the Omega had already failed to fight him off a few minutes ago. He was the stronger between the two of them to begin with, especially with his Alpha pheromones. On top of that, he could tell that Felix was currently unwell, which put the Omega at an even bigger advantage... And now that there was a pup in the mix, their fight was already decided.

If Felix were on his own, he might still have a chance against Jared, even in his current state. But with the pup to protect? There was no way Felix could leave his daughter behind, and he wouldn’t be able to flee with her either!

"So I have a daughter," he said lazily, not letting his eyes off Felix. Although he was convinced that the wailing pup was his, he wasn’t moved by her cries... Since she could cry so loudly and swing her limbs so energetically, her life couldn’t possibly be in any danger, she was most likely just kicking up a fuss. And Jared didn’t care if his pup was a little uncomfortable for a while, as long as she was alive and healthy. "How dare you hide it from me for so long..."

"She’s not yours!" Felix rushed to deny, raising his voice.

Jared chuckled once again, this time almost amused. "If not mine, then whose? Your fox’s?"

It was naturally just a sarcastic remark. From their little fight earlier, nothing would indicate that the fox was anything more than a normal animal Felix had taken in for a pet. Not for a moment did Jared suspect that the fox might be a shifter.

And in the current circumstances, Felix felt that it was best to keep Remi’s identity hidden. So, instead of trying to use him as a cover, he snapped back, "Must be one of the rogues I met on the way!"

"...What?" Jared only lifted his brows.

Felix blurted that out without much thinking. Changing his story would only be more suspicious now, though, so he crossed his arms on his chest, and twisted his face in a sneer. "After I left the pack, I met many attractive rogues on the way. And since I was no longer a virgin, I thought that I might as well spend the nights with them. I was able to get their protection in exchange... Not to mention, sleeping with you was so disgusting, that I had to replace those memories with something far more enjoyable!"

The smirk that had been playing on Jared’s lips just a moment ago disappeared without a trace. His whole face turned dangerously dark...

Felix couldn’t help but freeze, his breath momentarily dying in his chest. His instincts were all screaming at him to flee, and even Vivi seemed to have quietened down from fear and danger that was hanging heavily in the air...

CRASH!

All of a sudden, a sharp, high-pitched sound of shattering glass sounded just a few feet away from them. Surprised by the sudden noise, Felix and Jared momentarily stopped arguing, and both turned their heads...

While no one was looking, Remi, who had been lying limply on the floor by the bed, had dragged himself up onto his paws. He had climbed up the shelves, and knocked something off...

A glass bottle that Felix didn’t even know had been there. Falling from a height, the bottle broke into pieces. Vivid blue liquid stored inside spilled onto the panels, almost immediately turning into vapor and filling the room...

Although he didn’t know what it was, Felix pressed his hand over his mouth and pinched his nose, holding his breath. It was a potion, not a spell, after all. From what he had learned so far at his job as the witch’s assistant, he knew that a potion would affect anyone present, unless they had taken the antidote...

Seeing his reaction, Jared instinctively did the same.

But it was already too late. The potion’s vapors were extremely potent. Even though they hadn’t breathed in much, both Felix’s and Jared’s head spun, their visions turning blurry. They swayed, suddenly losing their balance...

And a moment later, both of them dropped down on the floor, unconscious.