Sorry, Fox. You’re Not My Only Mate.

Ava's POV: By the time I got home, I had pulled myself together. Felix sat on the couch as usual and lifted his chin arrogantly when he saw me. His irritation was obvious when he spoke. "Hurry up and get your hug over with. Then give me the dessert. I have somewhere to be." The disgust on his face stung more than I expected. In the past, I always ran to Felix the moment I got home from work and traded dessert for the chance to cool down against him. Only now did I realize how obvious his dislike had been, and what he had really wanted from me. That settled it. I wasn't going to force anything anymore. I walked calmly past him toward the bathroom. I had just opened the door when Felix smashed a glass. "Hey. Are you deaf or blind? Didn't you hear me talking to you?" Felix had always been hot-tempered and unreasonable. I had simply spent so much time coaxing him that we managed to get along. I crouched and calmly picked up the broken pieces. "There's no dessert. There won't be any from now on either." "What is that supposed to mean? Ava Quinn, what kind of attitude is this?" I laughed. "My attitude? Felix, did you ever think about me when you took the things I bought and gave them to Bianca? You know she's my stepmother's daughter and that we've always been competing with each other." Felix looked rattled for a split second. 1 second later, he recovered and spoke carelessly. "Good. Now that you know, Bianca and I won't have to sneak around anymore." A needle-sharp pain shot through me, and I couldn't tell where the physical hurt ended and the emotional pain began. "Why did you betray me?" He looked me up and down with a sneer. "Blame yourself for looking so plain. The Snow Fox Clan is known for its beauty. Showing up with someone as plain as you makes me a joke among my own people." I was far from plain. By ordinary standards, I was above average. But among snow foxes, who were known for extraordinary beauty, I looked plain. Still, Felix had been the one who chose me. Originally, I had only wanted Ethan Sterling. Felix had rushed out of the Beastfolk Adoption Center, dropped to his knees in front of me with red-rimmed eyes, and begged. "Please take me home. Our compatibility score is high too. I'm an orphan. I don't have a family. If you choose me, I'll treat you even better and make you my family." The word family was what got me. And when I learned he was an ice-aligned beastman, I registered him and brought him home too. At first, Felix was clingy. Any time I went near Ethan, he wrapped himself around me jealously and pleaded, "Ava, just look at me. Please?" After enough of those moments, I truly believed he cared. I was about to argue with him when sweat on my skin reminded me that I desperately needed to cool down. Felix noticed and raised his brows smugly. "If you can search the entire state and find the exact same dessert, I might let you hug me and cool off." My stomach turned. I rolled my eyes, stepped into the bathroom, and locked the door. "You're not my only beastmate." Felix kicked the leg of a table and stormed out. "Fine. Ethan is away on business. Let's see how you survive without me." By the time I came out of the bathroom, my temperature had mostly settled. I washed up and had just gotten into bed when Ethan sent me a photo. He had sent a photo of his wet, defined abs, with half of his snake tail curled into the frame like a deliberate tease. Ethan: Ava, I'll be home in 2 days. Ethan: Felix has been in a bad mood lately. If you feel uncomfortable, you can go into my room. There's a freshly shed snakeskin inside. Ethan: But I guess you probably don't want to go into my room anyway. During his trip, Ethan had checked in with me at the same time every day. I had been too busy trying to placate Felix to read many of the messages carefully. Now, scrolling through Ethan's gentle questions and reminders, I suddenly realized it was time to shift my attention to someone who actually deserved it.