Page 16 of Pack Scratch Fever

“What are you doing here?” I ask him quietly, turning so only he can hear me. I can feel Heidi and Gary’s eyes on me, watching us intensely.

“What everyone else is doing,” he says matter-of-factly. “Volunteering. And don’t you dare say you don’t need volunteers, because I know you do.”

I scowl at him. “I need actual volunteers, not someone trying to distract me.”

He looks amused. “I’m a real volunteer,” he says, then points to Mari.

“Mari is holding Coral right now, who is bonded with Henry, her brother.” He points to the kennel closest to us.

“The tuxedo one is Gracie, and the calico is Allie. Their mom is Claudia, who is on a sensitive food diet. And that—” he points to the cage near the front of the store that houses a grey tabby cat— “is Darlene. She has dry skin and needs to be the only cat in the house.”

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh ,” he repeats, smirking. “So, how do you like the website?”

At the mention of the website, I soften. “It’s phenomenal,” I say softly. “I can’t thank you enough. I can pay you?—”

He shakes his head, a tuft of black hair falling into his eyes. I have the urge to reach up and push it away. “I don’t want your money, sweetheart. Just your company.”

My inner Omega purrs in delight as my heart beats rapidly.

Heidi sighs dreamily next to me, and I roll my eyes are her eavesdropping.

“You’re doing enough,” I argue, looking inside the bag. I widen my eyes at the premium cat food it contains. “Hey, this is really expensive. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I want to. Why not give them the best food they can have?” Maddox shrugs. “The less filler the better, right?”

I nod slowly. “Yeah. That’s right.”

“And I think…” he leans over to peer into the bag, “…this one has cranberries for bladder health, and some pumpkin for digestion. Hell yeah, I made sure I bought the best type.” He motions to the aisle farthest from us on the left.

“The better brands are over there, near the back. At least, those are the ones I would give my imaginary cat.”

My jaw drops. “Did you do research on cat food or something?”

“Fuck yeah, I did,” he says, that same tuft of inky hair falling into his eyes. “I spent all last night going down a rabbit hole. Did you know there’s an entire debate about whether to give cats raw food?”

I nod. “Yeah, I know. But why did you do that? I can’t imagine reading up about cat food was that interesting to you?”

Maddox leans forward in his chair and rests his forearms on his knees, looking straight ahead. “All I do most of my time is stare at a computer and code,” he sighs. “I mean, I like it, it pays the bills, and I’m really fucking good at it—wait, can I swear in front of the cats?”

I let out a laugh. “Yes, you can swear in front of the cats, Maddox.”

“Okay.” He taps the toe of his boot on the ground as he waves a hand. “Like I said, I’m really fucking good at it—but it’s tedious as hell after a while. Anything is more interesting than spending half a day trying to fix an error in a program.”

“Including cat food?” I ask.

He nods and runs a hand through his hair. “Including cat food, gorgeous. When I was redoing your website, I spent a good amount of time looking at the portraits of cats that Avery took. I decided that they didn’t need to be eating cheap food that leaves them susceptible to diseases.”

I stare at him curiously. “You really did go down the rabbit hole,” I murmur, my stomach fluttering.

“Hell yeah, I did.” He turns to face me, scooting his chair slightly closer to me. “If I’m interested in something, I end up learning everything about it, then spouting off facts later and at random times. So, I’m warning you in advance. Poe’s already sick of hearing about different fish oils.”

I can’t help but smile. “So, you’re just kind of a dork?”

He narrows his eyes. “I wouldn’t go that far, Princess. Also, this is important to you, and I want it to be important to me.”

I don’t even mind the pet names at this point. I just grin like an idiot, pleased that he seems so invested in the health of the cats.

“I’ll recite all the breeds of cats if you keep smiling like that,” he says, smirking. “Who knew the way to your heart was through cat facts?”

I shake my head. Maddox is more than I thought he was. He’s handsome and flirty, but he’s also quirky and smart as hell.

The fact that he learned about the cats and cares about them makes my chest ache.

“You don’t have to keep doing that, you know,” I add, and he frowns, his blue eyes searching mine.

“Doing what?”

“You don’t have to call me Princess, or gorgeous, or anything like that,” I mumble.

He looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “Wait. Do you think I’m lying? That I’m just saying those things to get into your nest or something?”

Yes, my inner Omega purrs. Yes, come into my nest and let’s frolic until we’re naked.

“I…well…”

“Shit, babe,” he chuckles. “They just come out when I’m with you. When I look at you, I automatically think beautiful . In my head, you’re already my princess.”

That should be concerning.

I’m aware that alarm bells should be blaring in my mind.

I should tell him he’s presumptuous as hell, and just because he learned about cat food doesn’t mean he has any claim on me.

Just because he’s sitting with me at a pet store doesn’t mean we’re together.

I swallow nervously, and he notices.

He smirks, and he’s just like the Maddox I met the first day he walked into the rescue.

“You want to know something else?” He leans in closer, so close that if anyone saw us, they would think he’s about to kiss me. “I know you want to be my princess as well.”

The audacity .

I’m suddenly very aware of Maddox’s scent, the ginger mixing with spicy pepper.

I breathe in sharply.

“It’s our secret,” he says, and his minty breath washes over me. “It’s okay, baby, I won’t tell anyone. No one has to know that you’re my princess.”

My cunt throbs.

I clear my throat and shift in my seat, scooting away from him. “That’s not appropriate pet store talk,” I hiss, and he tilts his head back and laughs.

“You didn’t deny it, though.”

My face burns.

Thank God these new suppressants mask my scent better, because I’m positive I would have stunk up the entire pet shop by now.

Maddox is an enigma. One minute he’s making me laugh and info-dumping about cat treats, the next he’s making me soak my panties.

A throat clears, and I turn to see Gary glaring at Maddox.

“You’re going to get in trouble with Gary,” I say. “He’s protective of me, and he doesn’t trust you.”

“My intentions are good,” Maddox says, chuckling.

I give him an incredulous look.

“I promise ,” he says. “I really did come here to help you out. Whatever you want, I’m yours.”

I roll my eyes as he laughs.

“You’re impossible,” I groan, and kick at his boot with my shoe. “Whatever I want, huh?”

“Whatever you want,” Maddox confirms.

“There are a lot of things I want,” I admit. “But what I want today is to get these cats into loving homes.”

I meet Maddox’s gaze, and he nods.

“Then let’s make it happen.”

Surprisingly, Maddox is amazing company.

At first glance, one would think he’d be closed off—but he genuinely enjoys having conversations with the volunteers.

He’s clever and charming in a different way than Avery.

And when people come to ask questions about the cats, Maddox is happy to assist me with answering them.

Gary even shoots me a look when no one else is looking and gives me a subtle thumbs-up.

Mari is enamored with him as well, and Heidi just smiles when she sees Maddox and me interact.

I watch as he feeds Darlene a treat, stretching his fingers out tentatively to extend the morsel to her. After she takes it, he gingerly rubs his palm across the top of her head.

“Good girl,” he murmurs to her, and my inner Omega growls in envy.

I am not jealous of a damn cat.

“You’re so patient with her,” Mari sighs. “Darlene isn’t the biggest fan of men, either. You should take it as a good sign.”

“Oh, I do,” Maddox says lowly. “I’m honored.”

I want to roll my eyes at how much Mari is gushing over him.

I should be the one gushing, my inner Omega argues.

My hormones are making me insane .

I head down the cat food aisle just to have a moment away from Maddox and all the conflicting emotions he stirs in me.

How do I know what is real and isn’t just my response to a scent match?

Is Maddox even my type?

What is my type?

I keep going back to that horrible Heat in the hotel room, and how lonely and awful it was…

“Hey.”

Maddox’s voice interrupts my train of thought, and I jump when he approaches.

“You scared me,” I breathe. He takes a step back, his hands up.

“Didn’t mean to. Just wanted to check on you.” He smirks. “You’ve been gone for twenty minutes. Is cat food that interesting? You’ve been staring at the same spot for five minutes.”

I frown. “You were timing me?”

He shrugs, his eyes playful. “Timing, watching…same thing.”

I shake my head. “You’re so strange.”

The butterflies in my stomach are back, and when he takes a step closer, I don’t move away.

“Are you alright, though?” he asks softly.

I nod. “Just thinking.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I scoff. “With you? No.”

A flash of hurt flickers across his face, and I instantly regret it.

“Ouch,” he murmurs, the mischievous glint in his eyes gone.

Damn it, Piper.

He doesn’t deserve that.

He’s been helping the rescue all day with finding cats good homes.

I can be a bit more honest with him.

“I don’t…” I huff and stare at the ground. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Maddox. Or what you’re doing. I can’t be some fling for you. I can’t. I couldn’t handle it.”

I swallow. “You flirt, and you’re charming, and you’re handsome?—”

“You think I’m handsome?” I look back up at him, and his smile returns.

I roll my eyes. “You know you are.” I motion between the two of us. “But I’m not looking for someone to just share a Heat with. I can’t be something you use and be done with. I’ve had my share of that.”

There. I said it.

His smile falters. “Who did that to you?”

I shake my head, the shitty memories of that night threatening to take over. “It doesn’t matter. I just refuse to have a repeat of that. Ever.”

He studies me, and a low growl sounds from his chest. “That’s not my intention with you,” he says. “That’s never been my intention, sweetheart.”

I remain silent.

“Neither has it been Avery’s. Or even Poe’s, for that matter. I’m not interested in just any Omega,” he adds, and he takes a step toward me. “I’m interested in Piper. In the woman that saves cats and gives a shit about making the world a better place because of it. That’s who I’m after.”

My breathing quickens. Pepper and ginger swirl around me, and it becomes harder to stay level-headed.

He reaches out and caresses my cheek, and I don’t shy away from the touch.

“You don’t believe me,” he murmurs. “I don’t expect you to just yet.”

I close my eyes, delicious tingles racing down my spine.

“Maddox—”

“Shh. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Strong arms envelop me, and when he pulls me to his chest, I don’t resist. I bury my face in his shirt, rubbing his scent on me and sighing.

I want him. I want him desperately, all rational thoughts be damned.

“You’re perfect for me,” he promises. “Perfect for us.”

His words wash over me, leaving me in a trance.

Perfect. He thinks I’m perfect.

“I don’t know what happened to you yet,” he adds. “But when you finally tell me,” he presses a kiss to my hair, and I sigh, “when you do, I’ll make his life a living hell. All three of us will.”

Tears fill my eyes.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” I mumble into his chest.

“If it hurt you, it’s a big deal,” he growls. “Don’t downplay your pain.”

My head swirls with contradictions, my inner Omega arguing with my rational self.

We can trust him.

I can’t trust him.

He’s a good person.

I don’t know that.

He wouldn’t hurt us.

I don’t have proof of that.

But I let Maddox hold me in the cat food aisle, focusing on the strong rumble of his purr. His hand runs up and down my back, soothing me as I inhale his scent.

“I’ve got you, baby,” he whispers. “I got you.”

I wrap my arms around him, allowing myself to just be held.

If I can trust Avery and welcome him into my life, I can do it with Maddox, too.

“Piper?”

Mari’s voice interrupts me, and I quickly step out of Maddox’s hold.

“Yeah?” I ask, breathless. My face burns as I catch the amused look she gives me.

“We just found a home for Darlene.”

My eyes widen. “Really?”

Darlene was the cat I was most worried about bringing to the adoption event. She’s older and has a chronic skin condition. From my experience, it’s more difficult to get those animals adopted.

Mari is thrilled. “Really. She’s a retired veterinarian and is looking for just one cat. She’s already paid the adoption fee, too.”

I spin back around to face Maddox. “Yes!” I cry, letting out a hoarse laugh. “ Yes ! Darlene has a home!”

He laughs back and tries to high-five me, but I fling myself into his arms and let out an excited squeal. I hug him, and he squeezes me tightly. Pepper and ginger stimulate my senses, amplifying my joy.

When I pull away, I can’t keep the ridiculous grin off my face while Maddox stares at me in wonder, his lips slightly parted.

“What?” I ask, still smiling.

Darlene has a home.

We have one more space at the rescue for a cat that needs shelter.

“You’re breathtaking, baby,” he breathes.

My grin only grows.