Page 37 of Pack Scratch Fever

PIPER

Poe bought the property.

Poe saved the rescue.

I can’t comprehend it.

“I never want to see you like that again, Piper, if I can help it.”

His words soothe my inner Omega, who has already forgiven him. Hell, he was forgiven in her eyes after he stood up to my parents.

But part is me is still so terrified.

No one has ever done anything like that for me before.

Not even my parents, who use money to manipulate people, which is why I’m scared.

I can’t pay Poe back for this.

“Piper,” he says softly, and he must recognize the terror on my face. “You don’t owe me anything. I did this for you, your friends, and the cats. It’s not some way to win you back—but I’m going to try my damndest to. But if you told the three of us, right now, to go, we would.”

“It would fucking kill us, but we would,” Maddox mutters.

Avery bites his lip and scratches at his stubble. “Yeah,” he murmurs, looking at his lap.

My heart aches.

I don’t want to ever be away from them again.

Poe made a mistake, a huge one, but it wasn’t intentional.

He’s done more than enough to make it right, even if I still can’t wrap my head around why.

I’ve punished Maddox and Avery just for being in the same pack as him. The anger I held toward Poe I applied to them, too.

I panicked and tried to push them away.

“I missed the three of you,” I admit. “A lot.”

“That happens with scent matches, babe,” Maddox smirks, and I scowl at him. He chuckles at my expression.

“It feels like it’s been years, not days,” Avery admits. “But seeing the cats helped. I did some more portraits of them yesterday.”

I smile. He has a genuine connection with the cats, just like Maddox does, but I’m still not sure about Poe.

“They’re growing on me,” Poe smirks, and I furrow my brow at his tone. He acts as if there’s some inside joke I’m not aware of.

Or maybe it’s because I’m still sick, and my body is weak from infection. Maybe I’m just imagining things.

“Also,” he adds, his eyes warm. “I missed you too. More than I can explain.”

Comfort spreads through my chest, relief that I’m surrounded by my three scent matches.

They feel like home.

They saved the rescue for me and took care of the cats.

They stood up to my parents when no one else would.

I… adore them.

There’s another word I want to say, another feeling that I’m trying to ignore, but my inner Omega screams it in my head.

We love them.

Yet the terror is still there, the fear that I can’t repay them for what they’ve done.

What did I do to deserve it?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Poe watches me closely. “You’re worth it, Piper,” he says. “You’re worth everything.”

I nod.

“I know you don’t believe it,” he says softly. “But we’ve got forever to prove it to you.”

The doctor knocks on the door and enters, startled when she sees the pack.

“Oh. I was going to go over some things with you. Do you want them in the room?”

“Do you want to stay?” I ask the three of them. I look to Maddox and Avery, who sit on my right side, and then to Poe, who’s sitting near my left.

The three of them nod, and I smile.

I’m discharged a day later.

It took a bit of convincing, but the Alphas finally get me to agree to recover at their packhouse.

Poe is the one who will take me to their house from the hospital, and both he and Blair stay as the doctor goes through my discharge paperwork.

I’m to rest for a week and take it easy.

That’s not going to happen.

But Blair and Poe both give me harsh looks while I receive my instructions.

“No working, but you can visit your rescue,” the doctor finally acquiesces, and I grin while Blair rolls her eyes.

“Piper, you know we have it all under control,” she says, but I just smile bigger.

“She’s not going to listen to you,” Poe says, his eyes fond as he looks at me.

“Oh, I’m aware.” Blair snaps.

“Also, based on your new suppressants,” the doctor says, flipping through my paperwork, “you will probably have a Heat within the next week.” She turns to Poe. “Since you’ve been here the whole time, I’m assuming you’ll be around when that happens?”

My face burns with embarrassment, but Poe simply nods.

“Then read this thoroughly.” She hands Poe my discharge papers. “Look out for any side effects and don’t hesitate to call us if you sense something is wrong.”

“You don’t have to do all that,” I tell Poe. “I can take care of myself.”

He looks amused. “I’m well aware, sweetheart,” he purrs. “But you’re in no position to argue right now.”

I glare at him.

The nerve .

“And you don’t have to take care of yourself anymore,” he adds softly.

The doctor smiles at me. “You’re lucky you have such caring people in your life.”

My anger dissipates.

“You’re right,” I agree.

As we wait for a nurse to bring a wheelchair, Poe leaves the room to bring his car around to the front of the hospital.

But not before Blair gives him a hug.

“Thank you,” she tells him, and he simply nods.

Once he’s gone, I stare slack-jawed at Blair. “Since when did you two become best friends?”

“Since he saved the rescue and atoned for his mistake,” she says. “Since he came to me with his plan to buy the place, all because he loves you and wants to see you happy.”

I open and close my mouth, unable to respond.

“I like your pack, Piper,” she tells me plainly. “I approve.”

“They’re…they’re not my pack.”

She chuckles. “Are you sure about that?”

I chew my lip.

“I guess not.”

“I reek,” I state as Poe drives me to the packhouse.

I desperately need a shower, and I can’t wait to stand under the magnificent showerhead that’s in the bathroom of the nesting room.

“You don’t. You smell like lemon bars and mint,” he assures me.

He’s driving with one hand, his right one resting next to my thigh on the seat, as if he wants to touch me.

I wish he would.

“Catmint and catnip,” I sigh. “We go together.”

He snickers.

I’m still exhausted from my sickness, but my body responds to his earthy scent. Arousal swirls in my core despite my exhaustion.

“I know I’ve said it before, but you’re welcome to stay as long as you want,” Poe says. “The nesting room is yours. It will never belong to anyone else.”

My stomach flips.

“You don’t have to do all that for me,” I murmur, repeating the same sentiment for the thousandth time.

“We’re doing it because you matter to us. Because you’re worth it.” Poe’s tone is gentle.

It still doesn’t feel true.

The ugly, nasty voice in my head keeps screaming that I don’t deserve any of this.

The voice sounds a lot like my mother, and at other times my father.

“I apologize if we made the situation with your parents worse,” Poe murmurs, as if reading my mind. “It’s… difficult for me to hear you being talked to like that.”

“It’s the only time I’ve felt safe around them,” I admit. “When the three of you were there, I knew they couldn’t hurt me the way they wanted to.”

The scent of his frustration fills the car, harsh with a note of burnt wood.

“I’m sorry,” he breathes. “For everything.”

I shake my head. “I know, Poe.”

He hesitantly places his hand on my knee, and I let out a sigh of relief.

I missed his touch.

A deep rumble sounds from his throat, and tingles race down my arms.

He purrs for me, keeping his hand gently on my knee while I hum contentedly.

The drive to the packhouse continues in silence. I eventually doze off, and when I open my eyes again, we’re parked in the sprawling driveway. Poe watches me, his grey eyes carefully reading my face.

“Welcome home,” he says.

It almost feels like it, too.

I’ve never considered my apartment my home, nor my parent’s house.

The rescue was the closest thing to a home for me—but it’s possible the packhouse could be the place I truly belong.

Poe helps me out of his car and keeps his arm wrapped around my waist as we head inside. I try not to tremble in his hold as shockwaves of sensitivity dance down my arms.

I missed his touch.

“Are you okay?” he asks softly.

“I think so,” I murmur. “It’s a lot to process, and I’m feeling dizzy.”

He nods. “Take as much time as you need here. We’ll make sure the rescue is taken care of.”

“Thank you, Poe. For everything.”

He grips my waist tighter. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Buying the entire building is not the least you could do,” I argue weakly, looking up at him and smiling.

He smirks. “You’re right. I could do a lot more.”

He opens the door before I can protest, and a rush of scents wafts over me.

Sweet tea. Ginger. Chamomile. Pepper.

Avery and Maddox greet us in the front room.

“You don’t need to swarm her,” Poe warns as Maddox pulls me into his arms.

“Shit, sweetheart, welcome home,” he says into my neck, ignoring his pack leader. “I’m so glad you’re out of there.”

Shivers run up my spine as his breath fans dangerously close over my mating gland, and I step out of his arms before my reaction intensifies.

“I can show you to your room,” Avery offers, taking my hand and linking our fingers. He squeezes my palm reassuringly, and I squeeze it back.

“I know where the room is,” I laugh. “The three of you don’t need to walk me down the hallway.”

“Don’t. Crowd. Her,” Poe warns again, until a strange sound interrupts us.

A distinct grumpy yowl echoes from further inside the house.

Am I hearing things?

“That sounds like Mister Whiskers,” I breathe. “Did the colony in your backyard grow?”

The three Alphas stare at me. Maddox tries to hide a smile, Avery shrugs, and Poe raises an eyebrow.

“You got a cat?” I squint at Poe, confused. “Why is there a cat here?”

And why the hell does it sound like Mister Whiskers?

Poe smirks. “Follow me.”

I allow him, Avery, and Maddox to lead me down the hallway, past the nesting room, until we reach Poe’s bedroom.

There, next to the window, perched high on a magnificent cat tree, sits Mister Whiskers. His yellow eyes gaze at me with curiosity, his broad tail swishing back and forth.

I stand in the doorway and gape at the cat, wondering if I’m hallucinating.