I Would Rather Be a Rogue [BL]
Chapter 29: Sniffing Around

Chapter 29: Sniffing Around

How to make Kade leave Silverfall? The simplest, and probably the only, way was to find the mermaid, of course! While it didn’t guarantee the Alpha would leave, at least not permanently, not when the fated bond between him and Felix remained... He couldn’t possibly be so free as to just hang around endlessly, right? Even as an heir, there must have been a limit to how much time he could spend away from the pack without a proper justification.

And his mission with the mermaid was likely his current justification.

Of course, even knowing that, it didn’t make things easier for Felix. He didn’t know Silverfall or the folks living here well. The witch wouldn’t show up to meet him, and Remi acted as if it couldn’t understand. And Felix couldn’t try to ask around like Kade. He was not a rich-looking Alpha whom people would take seriously, not to mention, he didn’t want to attract any attention to himself!

Which left him with only one option. Do what wolves were best at, and hunt. Well, not literally, of course, but by using his keen senses to track the scent! Kade most likely had tried it as well, but two noses were better than one, right?

With a plan in mind, Felix jumped into action the same night. Once all the lights in his neighbors’ windows were out, he stepped to the back of the house, where he was the most shielded from sight, quickly undressed, hung the clothes on the laundry line, and shifted.

It felt so freeing, to finally shift after such a long time. He hasn’t done that since escaping from the Moonhill Pack. His wolf had been sulky with him back then, angry that Felix left his mate and his pack, so shifting had been... challenging. Felix wouldn’t be able to feel at ease. Now that there was peace between them - strained and fragile, but peace nonetheless - he could finally shift with no worries.

Having done that countless times before, Felix adjusted to the change of form quickly, and soon enough, was already running down the street, the thin layer of fresh snow crunching under his paws hitting the pavement rhythmically, the cold night wind ruffling his golden brown fur.

Silverfall smelled quite different to a wolf’s nose, much more intense, plenty of scents mixing in the air, coming from every direction. Felix slowed down, sniffing around with utmost care, trying not to miss even the faintest scent.

There were a lot of human scents, then various dishes they cooked, still hanging around in the air since dinner. Fireplaces burning in some of the houses every now and then. The scent of trees and grass, fresh snow and soil, winter air and the sand and salt sprinkled all over the pavements to prevent them from getting too slippery... The last one was particularly distracting, since ’salt’ was one of the scents Felix was looking for. While he had no idea what a mermaid smelled like, he assumed it had to be a lot like the ocean and fish.

All of a sudden, his ears perked up. Fish!

...Only to drop down as he sniffed some more.

Yeah, there was fish... But that was clearly some canned sardines. Served with onion, lemon and parsley.

Could the mermaid smell like onion? Highly unlikely.

But Felix trotted forward, undeterred. And soon enough, he picked on another scent. Sea salt! He followed the faint scent, approaching one of the houses, paw by paw...

Only to soon hear some splashing and light humming, coming from a young woman who was having a bath while using sea salt scrub, bath bombs, or other fancy skincare. What exactly, Felix couldn’t tell, since he wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about them, never having used them himself. Ashley’s mother had been in charge of luxury products’ distribution back in the Moonhill Pack, so naturally, Felix never got any, not even once.

Either way, once again, it wasn’t what he was looking for. Now that he was right under the window, Felix could tell all the scents inside apart. The woman smelled like a HUMAN, while the sea salt was just in the bath.

So, once again, Felix marched forward, through the cold winter night.

In the end, he sniffed around a good few blocks, before he decided it was time to retreat for the night. Shooing Kade away from Silverfall was important, yes, but he still had his own wellbeing to worry about! There was work, fixing the house - which was STILL far from done - knitting, plus general chores... Because of his pregnancy, Felix was already tired as it was. The last thing he needed was cutting on sleep!

He ran back home, enjoying the short, refreshing jog, quickly grabbed his clothes, and got back inside, jumping in the shower. Later, he plopped down on his bed, his hair still damp, and pulled out his phone to download the map of Silverfall. He needed to keep track of the area he covered, to make his search more efficient.

As he marked the streets he had checked... The area was much smaller than he thought. At this rate, it would take him two or three weeks to investigate the whole town, and that was if he went out every night, and kept his speed. Not to mention the fact that some areas might need to be searched more than once...

With a heavy sigh, Felix turned off the screen, and tossed his phone to the side. This whole idea turned out to be extremely time-consuming. And perhaps pointless, since there was a chance that Kade would find the mermaid on his own, before Felix...

However, it would be good for Felix to find her first. Then, maybe he could use it to negotiate a deal with Kade? It was at least worth a try.

"Hey, Remi." Felix nudged the fox, curled up on the bed next to him. "Still unwilling to help? You were annoyed by Kade as well, weren’t you? Don’t you want to chase him away?"

Remi lifted its head, staring at Felix unblinkingly with its clear blue eyes.

And then, it scooted closer, resting its head on Felix’s chest as it cuddled to his side.

"I meant finding the mermaid! The mermaid! Eh..." Felix let out an exasperated sigh, giving up, as he saw Remi snuggle closer and close its eyes, pretending to sleep. Still, the corners of his mouth lifted, and he hugged the fox back. "Whatever, I guess..." he muttered, falling asleep.

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