Page 31 of Pack Scratch Fever

I fill the shopping cart with massive bags of cat food, high-quality cat litter, the flea medicine that Piper mentioned she uses on the cats, and other pet first aid products that all rescues desperately need.

Piper won’t reject these items, but she might have turned away flowers or chocolates.

This is what matters to her.

I won’t even have to tell her they’re from me—my scent will slightly linger when I drop everything off.

The cashier’s eyes widen as she scans everything, but I couldn’t care less when she tells me the total.

I would have bought more flea medicine if there had been any left on the shelves.

When I finally arrive at the rescue, parking to the side of the building, my hands are clammy.

I’m half excited, half terrified to drop off my purchases.

Piper may not even be there, but on the off chance she is, maybe I can catch a quick glimpse of her without her knowing.

That’s borderline stalking territory, but my inner Alpha is desperate for just a whiff of her.

Anything to get me by until she’s ready to see me again.

Lugging bags in my hands, I frown when I see a figure in all black dragging a ridiculously tall, carpeted grey cat tree with him.

Apparently, Maddox and I had the same idea.

He stops in front of me at the corner of the building. “Dude. Don’t you have class?” he asks, setting the cat tree down. “What are you doing?”

“The same thing you are,” I quip.

He glances at the bags. “Damn, these cats are going to be fed forever. I spent like a thousand dollars on food, too.”

“Yes, they’ll be fed forever, but only if they have somewhere to go first. Without a rescue, it’s pointless.”

Maddox frowns. “Yeah. I had an idea; I was going to talk to you?—”

“Hey!” a voice whisper-yells. I turn to see Blair stalking toward us. She’s in a faded sweatshirt with her hair pulled into a bun and looks just as tired as I feel. “What the hell are you idiots doing here?”

I flinch at her words.

“We have donations,” Maddox says smoothly, as Blair scowls at the cat tree he places down. “I have cases of food in the car, too.”

“That’s the biggest thing I’ve ever seen,” she grimaces, then looks down at my bags. “Flea medicine?”

I nod. “Why are we whispering?”

Is Piper here?

“She’s not here,” Blair says softly, as if reading my mind. “But you’re on everyone’s shit list right now. Mari is ready to kick your asses, and she’s inside helping.”

Maddox sighs. “We swear we didn’t know what that idiot Poe was doing, Blair. And if we had, we would have stopped it. We never want to hurt Piper, or you, or any of the cats.”

Blair shakes her head. “I know. It doesn’t change what happened, though. You hurt my best friend .”

“And I’ll spend forever trying to make it up to her,” Maddox growls. “And even if she doesn’t accept our apologies, I’ll still make sure that she’s taken care of.”

“You said she’s not here?” I ask tentatively. “Where is she?”

Blair turns to me, her expression softening. I catch a whiff of her powdery flower scent, so unlike Piper’s. “She’s sick,” she says. “Apparently still sleeping off the hangover.”

“From three days ago?” I demand. “You haven’t seen her for three days?”

Blair turns to me incredulously. “I’ve given her space,” she says slowly, as if talking to a child.

“I was just about ready to leave and check on her before you two showed up with all this.” She waves at the bags.

“I’m grateful, I really am. But you don’t know Piper like I do.

Once she shuts down, it’s not easy to get back into her good graces. ”

“I don’t give a fuck if it’s easy,” Maddox snarls. “I’ll never stop.”

“I know,” Blair says gently. “And for what it’s worth…

I don’t really blame you. I believe it was an honest mistake, but the consequences are still horrible for us.

I love the rescue, but Piper needs this.

You don’t know her like I do, no matter how much you may think you do.

This is Piper’s livelihood, and Poe threatened it. ”

“But we can fix it,” I insist, my chest aching. “We can help. There are so many ways to rectify the situation. Blair, Poe could even buy the?—”

“I know there are solutions to this,” Blair interrupts me. “And I’m sure Piper knows that too, somewhere inside of herself. But she doesn’t trust easily, and this was a betrayal of her trust.”

“Fuck,” Maddox huffs, yanking down his hood and running his fingers through his hair. “ Fuck .”

“Yeah,” Blair adds. “It’s pretty bad.”

“She’s our scent match, Blair,” I say. “I…there’s no one else…”

“I know,” she says, more empathetic than we deserve her to be.

She takes one of the bags of flea medicine from me.

“This is a good first step. But when I get back from her place, I would like your help with inventory and exploring different rental options. If you guys are serious about this, I could really use your time and energy.”

I nod. “Anything you want.”

She quirks her lip. “Good. I’ll be back soon. Just, uh, stay away from the windows unless you want to deal with Mari’s wrath. Drop everything off out of the view of the front desk.”

Maddox scoffs. “I don’t think we need to be scared of Mari .”

“ BOYS !” a voice yells, and I snap my head to the source of the sound.

A short woman with grey hair wearing a cream-colored sweater stomps toward us.

“Oh, shit,” Blair mutters. “Too late.”

It looks like I’m finally about to meet Mari.

“Hi, Mari,” Maddox says smoothly, just as the mature Omega puts her finger in his face. She’s at least a foot shorter than him, but the fury that radiates off her is still unsettling. Her scent is floral and much powderier than Blair’s.

“You told me you wouldn’t hurt her,” she hisses. “You promised . And now she’s not even showing up at the rescue anymore! You horrible, terrible man!”

Maddox’s eyes widen in surprise, and the small grin that was on his face disappears. “Mari, I swear I didn’t?—”

“Save it,” she snaps, and Maddox’s mouth shuts. She whirls to me, a ball of anger as her chest heaves. “And you? What are you doing here with him? Are you part of that awful pack, too?”

I open my mouth to reply but find myself speechless.

“Mari, they’re going to help us,” Blair insists. “See? They brought flea medicine, the special diet food, and litter.”

Mari looks down at the bags, and her expression softens. “That’s the good, expensive brand,” she says finally.

I nod. “That’s what Piper taught me.”

At the mention of her name, Mari looks up at me. “Do you understand what you’ve done to our Piper?” she demands.

I nod. “I do, Mari. And I’m so, so sorry.”

“I swear, Mari, we’ll make it up to both of you,” Maddox says, his eyes burning with intensity.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she snaps.

I figured the ten-foot cat tree and massive amount of cat food were a good start, but apparently, Mari disagrees.

Blair sighs. “It’s complicated, Mari. Besides, the guys pledged to do litter box duty every day for us, too. Morning and night.”

I notice Maddox’s slight grimace, but neither of us objects to Blair’s claim.

If I have to spend my life scooping up cat shit just to show Piper I love her, so be it.

My scent match is worth it.

Mari scrutinizes us, then looks back at the bags. “You might as well come in, then,” she mutters. “You can start now.”

“And I’ll be back after I check on Piper,” Blair says, and my heart aches at the mention of my scent match’s name.

Let me go with you, I want to say.

“We’ll go with you.” Maddox says, apparently becoming a mind reader.

“Absolutely not,” Blair huffs. “No offense, but you’re the last people she wants to see. Go and clean the litter boxes so Mari doesn’t have to do it.”

I look to Maddox, and I can tell he’s debating whether to follow Blair from a distance in his car. I shake my head subtly, and he rolls his eyes and huffs in frustration.

“Come on, boys,” Mari says. “And bring all that cat litter with you.”

Maddox and I let Mari order us around, cleaning litter boxes and washing food bowls while Blair is away.

I’m sure we’re still on the older woman’s bad side, but she seems to soften when I’m content to trim the nails of a few of the rambunctious kittens.

She won’t say it outright, but she appreciates the help.

By the time the rescue closes, every kennel is deep cleaned, and the floor is spotless.

Mari almost looks pleased.

I can’t even be angry with her.

She cares about Piper, my Omega, and Piper deserves all the care in the world.

“I expect some help tomorrow, too,” Mari adds.

“Of course,” Maddox says. “That was always the plan.”

“I’ll come after my classes,” I tell her. “I’ll help clean up during closing.”

At that, Mari’s expression softens. “I’m sorry I was harsh with you earlier,” she admits. “I’m always going to be like that with Piper. There’s not a lot of people like her in the world.”

I’m aware of how special Piper is, and it kills me that she’s hurting.

I can’t comfort her when she’s in pain because my pack is the reason for it.

The idea of her suffering and believing that we’ve betrayed her is enough to consume me.

Judging by the look on Maddox’s face, he feels the same way.

Maddox is my packmate for a reason. He’s dealt with loss greater than I can imagine, and he hides his loneliness well. He may be a bit unhinged, but he also has an empathetic side that I appreciate.

So, I know this is killing him too, even if he manages to maintain his composure with a smirk.

“We’re going to make it right, Mari,” he says. “She just has to let us. No matter how much time it takes, I’ll be there when she’s ready. I can be patient when I need to be.”

The older Omega places her hands on her hips. “I hope so. That girl is as stubborn as a mule, but the way to her heart is through the cats.” She tilts her head thoughtfully. “You’re also a better choice for her than Kyle. I don’t think she likes him very much.”

Maddox narrows his eyes. “Who is Kyle?” he asks lowly.