I Would Rather Be a Rogue [BL]
Chapter 43: Impossible Negotiations

Chapter 43: Impossible Negotiations

"What!" Kade abruptly shot up from his seat, slamming his hands on the table, and making Felix flinch. The table shook threateningly, the hot tea spilling from the cups onto the uneven surface. His purple-black eyes were flickering with both anger and disbelief, the scent of sandalwood wafting dangerously in the air.

Felix’s fingers tightened, and he squeezed his hands together so hard his bones were almost crushed. It took all he had to just resist the glare, let alone the scent. His instincts were screaming at him to surrender right this instant...

But he bit it down, not letting himself be controlled by all the overflowing emotions. He maintained a composed expression, as he waited for Kade to calm down.

And eventually, the Alpha sat down again. He remained silent for a while longer, organizing his thoughts, before he asked, "So you have it?"

His eyes were darting around as he said it, as if he were trying to search the place for any possible hiding spots. It only made Felix smirk, though.

"Look how much you want, you won’t find it anyway. Do you think I’m stupid enough to hide it somewhere so obvious?"

He was still nervous, of course... But for the first time since they had met, he had the higher ground. He had something that Kade needed, while Kade... What could Kade do? He could try to threaten him, but with what? With sending Felix to the Moonhill Pack? That would be unpleasant, but for his pup, it wouldn’t be THE WORST end. With his life, then? That wouldn’t benefit Kade in any way either. Putting their mate bond aside, Felix was currently the only lead the Alpha had. If he were to get rid of him, he’d be back to square one...

Thus, with their current circumstances, Felix could afford to take a little gamble.

Kade paused, and turned his dark eyes back to Felix. He was probably regretting lessening the surveillance on the Omega. Wanting to appear more reasonable and accommodating, he decided to give Felix some ’space’... And as a result, he no longer had the guards trail behind him 24/7. Even if he wanted to check what places Felix had visited in recent days, he couldn’t.

Thus, he had no choice but to continue the conversation, even if he disliked the direction it took.

"You’ve met the mermaid, then," he said, feigning indifference, as he tried fishing for any information he could possibly squeeze out of Felix.

However, Felix shook his head. "No. I’ve received the witch’s help."

Well, he was quite certain that the witch must have gotten involved in this whole affair at some point, so it wasn’t entirely a lie.

"Oh?" Kade lifted his brows, not buying it. "And why did she help you?"

"That’s our private affair. I can’t say."

"Not even to me?"

"Not to anyone. She’s a witch, I don’t dare do anything that might incur her wrath!"

"Hm." Kade’s lips twisted with displeasure, but there was no way for him to retort. He had been in Silverfall for a while now, asking around, so he knew very well how wary people were when talking about the witch... So even he knew it was best to tread with care. He might have been a powerful werewolf, and an heir to one of the supreme packs, but if the witch was a real deal... Well, even he would be defenseless against a spell!

"About that blood," he asked instead. "Does it work?"

"That depends." Felix took a small sip of tea, sighing softly with relief that Kade didn’t press any further. "It is a powerful remedy, but there are ailments that it won’t work on. Some of the powerful curses, for example."

"Oh? Then if it won’t work, how will I know it’s even real mermaid blood?"

"It’s simple. I will give you four doses, so you can test it on someone else who’s seriously ill as well."

"Hmm." Kade tapped his fingers on the table, pondering over it. With four doses, he could indeed confirm the effectiveness on more people, so he would know if there was any deceit.

"Alright then," he eventually sighed. "What do you want in return?"

"Like I said. For you to leave me alone. Leave Silverfall together with your guards, and never bother me again," Felix calmly stated.

Which, naturally, only made Kade agitated again. "But you’re my fated mate!" he exclaimed, raising his voice without even realizing.

Yet Felix remained unmoved. "I’m not," he shook his head. "If you don’t believe me, try rejecting me."

"No way!"

The sandalwood pheromones filled the room again. They were so intense, Felix had to cover up his nose, or else he’d be affected. It was already hard enough keeping his mind clear, with all the pacing, whining and howling his wolf was up to in his head. As if it couldn’t understand that Felix was doing it all for their good! For their safety, and for their pup! No matter how strong and attractive Kade was, they would be better without him!

Kade noticed Felix’s reaction, and he withdrew his pheromones, taking deep breaths to calm down. Of course, the scent he had already released couldn’t just be taken back, but now that he regained control over himself, the pressure he was exerting on Felix slowly lessened.

"That is out of the question," he said in a firm, but much calmer voice. "Pick something else."

"But I don’t want anything else!" Felix insisted, still pinching his nose.

"Well then." Kade finished his tea in two gulps, and got up. "The deal is off."

Having said that, he went to the front door, to put his shoes back on.

Leaving Felix completely dumbfounded. While he had expected it wouldn’t be easy... He didn’t expect such a spectacular failure either!

"Wait!" he called after Kade. "Don’t you need the cure? Isn’t that person waiting for it? How can you leave them to suffer, when you can help them now? All you have to do is-"

"I’m not giving up on you, Felix," Kade said, his purple-black eyes possibly more serious and earnest than Felix had ever seen them before. "And I don’t want to make a promise I have no intention of keeping. I am just going to keep on looking for the mermaid myself then. See you later."

And then, he opened the door, and left.