Page 9 of Pack Scratch Fever

MADDOX

This is my favorite day.

I’m serious; this is the most fun I’ve had in ages.

All the cats hanging out with Piper (and Blair), and then Poe showing up with that ridiculous look on his face?

Pure comedy.

“Hiya, sunshine,” I say as Poe scowls. “So nice of you to join us.”

“What the hell is a cat colony?” he demands to Piper, and I narrow my eyes at his demeanor.

Just because he’s miserable doesn’t mean he needs to be rude to our guests.

“It’s a colony of cats,” Avery explains slowly. “It’s in the name, Poe.”

“Don’t worry, your precious herb garden made it out alive,” Piper shoots back. “And congratulations, the cat distribution system chose you, just like I said it would.”

My mouth falls open in delight.

The sass. I adore Poe; he’s one of my best friends, but sometimes, someone needs to check his attitude besides Avery and me.

Watching Piper do it is phenomenal.

With us, she was a bit shy and closed off. But with Poe, she looks ready to smack him.

Best. Day. Ever.

Poe continues to seethe. “So, you just found a bunch of cats and didn’t bother to call me?” he snaps, glaring at me.

I wave my hand in dismissal. “And do what? Watch you spiral about something you can’t control?”

I catch Piper’s lip quirk, but she doesn’t say anything.

“We need all those cats out,” Poe continues, his voice gruff. “There’s no reason for them to be here.”

“Okay,” Piper sighs, rubbing her forehead. “I’ve had a really long night, and I’ve lost all my patience.” She points at his chest. “Dude, you literally smell like catnip. You know that, right?” Then, she turns back to us. “Have you guys not told him? His scent is literally catnip. Herbs. ”

Poe’s eyes bug out of his head, and Piper continues, angling her entire body on the couch to face him.

“Why do you think that cat wouldn’t let go of you?” she says. “Why do you think I asked if you gave her catnip?”

Poe is speechless.

I knew my packmate had an earthy, herby scent, especially with all his time gardening, but I never thought it was catnip .

I burst out laughing, and both Poe and Piper glare at me.

Even Avery chuckles.

“Sorry, Poe, she’s right,” Blair adds, shrugging. “You attract cats.”

I can’t stop grinning, despite Poe’s annoyance. He looks ready to murder everyone.

“Besides, where were you?” Avery asks. “What have you been out doing?”

I catch Piper’s face turn stoic, pretending she’s not interested. A wave of indifference crosses her features.

“Office,” he grumbles, and Piper’s face looks relieved.

Interesting.

“An office at four in the morning?” Blair asks him. “I’d be grumpy too. What do you do for work?”

“Law,” Poe sighs. “Real estate law. Looking over contracts for hours on end, dealing with commercial properties.”

Piper makes a face. “Oh. That’s why you’re miserable. Ugh. I don’t envy you,” she murmurs.

My shit-eating grin grows wider. No one bothers to give Poe any pushback or attitude. But Piper speaks her mind, and it’s refreshing.

Almost as refreshing as her delicious scent.

“We should get going,” Blair says, standing, and I immediately want to object.

Why can’t Piper stay?

She shouldn’t be working if she hasn’t slept at all—she could rest here.

The suggestion sounds a little crazy, though.

“Are you good to drive?” I ask, and Blair gives me a polite nod.

“I am. This one, though—” she motions to Piper, “won’t be allowed behind a wheel until she’s gotten at least six hours of sleep.”

Well, at least my girl is in good hands.

“I want those cats out as soon as possible,” Poe snaps, and Piper turns to him, her face incredulous.

“It depends on how quickly they take the bait in the traps,” she explains slowly. “I can’t just wave a magic wand and take them with me.”

“Especially since you stink like catnip, Poe,” Avery adds, and I chuckle.

“That’s our cue,” Blair says, and Piper stands with her. “Avery, Maddox, and now Poe, thanks for having us. Text us when you trap the cats, and we can come and pick them up.”

“They’re gone forever, right? They’re not coming back?” Poe asks, and I want to smack him for how much of an asshole he’s being.

Piper apparently does, too.

“What is your issue?” she growls. “What do you have against cats?”

Blair tugs at her arm. “Come on, Pipe. Let’s get you home.”

“They’re pests,” Poe says, his voice clipped.

The room suddenly explodes with the scent of sour lemon and strong, earthy mint. Piper’s face turns red, and she glares murderously at Poe.

“You’re a pest ,” she hisses, pointing at him. “I’ve got a newsflash for you. You naturally attract cats. It’s always going to happen for you, so you should just accept it.”

“Wow,” Avery murmurs under his breath. “Tell him, Piper.”

“Okay, I really don’t think we need to be fighting about this at four in the morning,” Blair says, dragging Piper to the front door. “The traps are set, the cats will be taken care of, everyone wins.”

I stand. “I’ll get the front door for you.”

Piper seethes, still glaring at Poe as he stares her down. He walks past her, swings open the door, and Blair all but shoves Piper outside.

“Bye, everyone!” Blair says. “We’ll be in touch after everyone gets some sleep.”

The door slams shut behind them, and Poe turns to us, his expression furious.

“What the hell was that?” he demands, and I scoff.

“What the hell was what ?” I say. “Could you have been any more of an asshole? What is your problem? They came over to help us!”

“Yeah, Poe, what was that?” Avery asks. “Why don’t you like Piper? Why would you act like that?”

The question stops Poe, and he frowns. “I don’t not like her,” he says quietly, almost to himself. “There’s too much going on right now.”

“For you, maybe,” Avery snaps. “But even so, you don’t treat other people like that just because you’re in a hard place. Especially someone who’s offering to help you. And especially her. What the hell are you doing?”

“She told me I smell like catnip!”

“You do !” I yell. “It’s not a bad thing! You’re made of fucking herbs! So what?”

“I don’t want to smell like a fucking salad!”

“Salads are delicious,” Avery adds.

Poe looks like he’s about to have a breakdown, though. The dark circles under his eyes are horrific, and I could swear he’s aged ten years in the past few months.

“You’ve got to get this under control,” I tell him. “Whatever is going on with that job…no amount of money is worth this.” I motion to him.

He scowls. “I’ve got everything under control.”

Avery scoffs and reaches for his laptop that’s on the coffee table. “No offense, Poe, but you’re lashing out at cats. That’s the sign of someone who doesn’t have any control over any aspect of their life.”

Poe crosses his arms, sighs, and leans against the wall, closing his eyes. “Shit,” he mutters.

“You owe her an apology,” I add.

He shakes his head, his eyes still closed. “Absolutely not.”

Avery opens the website to the rescue, and I make a face at the lime green background.

That has to change as soon as possible.

“You have to apologize to her if we’re going to ask her out,” Avery says simply, scrolling through the pictures of the cats again.

There’s a moment of silence.

“What?” Poe finally demands.

“Maddox and I have decided,” Avery says simply, staring at his laptop screen. “I’m going to offer to do a photoshoot for the cats, and he’s going to rebuild the rescue’s website. We’re also all going to volunteer at the rescue because of how much she’s helped us.”

“And because she’s going to be our Omega,” I add, “unless someone messes it up.”

“Absolutely not,” Poe says.

I anticipated this reaction, so I just shrug. “Majority rule, bro,” I say. “Just because you’ve decided to ruin your life doesn’t mean we have to.”

A moment of silence fills the space.

“Shit, Maddox,” Avery says quietly. “You don’t have to go that far.”

“I said no ,” Poe growls, his eyes cold. “She’s not a match for us.”

“That Mister Whiskers needs an entirely new headshot,” Avery says to himself, and Poe tilts his head.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Poe sighs, exasperated. He pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales slowly.

“You can’t claim she’s not right for us when you barely even know her,” I snap. “She’s all but a perfect scent match.”

“ And ?”

“And I’m saying that we’re going to pursue her, and you’re going to have to fucking deal with it.”

“But she’s a cat lady ,” Poe insists.

“And you’re a catnip gentleman ,” I mock. “Now hurry off to bed, Salad Boy, before I beat your ass.”

“No fighting,” Avery warns.

My threat is empty. Poe is bigger than both Avery and me, and he would likely win in a fight.

But if he keeps acting like this, I have a feeling we’ll end up brawling, eventually.

He may be miserable, but I’ll be damned if he makes us miserable along with him.

Also, he’s my best friend.

It’s my job to pull him out of this.

“Fuck you, Maddox,” Poe sighs. “Seriously, fuck you.”

“Only if you ask nicely,” I purr, and he huffs and storms out of the living room.

“That wasn’t very helpful,” Avery says.

“Yeah, well, he’s going to need to get over it,” I say. “It’s not our fault that he can’t see what’s in front of him.”

“And what’s that?” Avery asks, turning to me.

“Our Omega,” I say.

Avery bites his lip. “I feel the same way,” he admits. “But I’m not sure she even wants to be around us right now.”

“She’s going to have to come back once those cats get trapped,” I insist. “And before then, we can win her over. Maybe not Poe, but you and I can.”

Avery gets a strange look on his face, and his eyes dart away.

“What?” I ask.

“Follow me,” he says as he stands. He leads us into the spare bedroom and flips on the light.

No. Fucking. Way .

“I started doing this after we came back from the rescue,” he admits. “I mean…I didn’t know if it was possible, but just in case she ever wanted to…”

“Holy shit,” I breathe. “Well, at least we’re on the same page.”

He’s tidied up the room and changed the sheets on the queen-size bed. Extra pillows are scattered on the mattress, and the plushest throw blankets we own are piled on top.

“I mean, you know I would never dare to try to build her a nest,” he laughs nervously. “But…I mean…”

I clap him on the shoulder. “I get it,” I tell him. “You did nothing wrong. Hell, I’d be happy to help add to this.”

Avery sighs and sits on the edge of the bed, reaching out and longingly touching one of the pillows. “I really like her, Maddox,” he says softly. “I know we don’t know much about her, but her passion is really attractive. And her scent…”

“Yeah, I know,” I murmur. “Her fucking scent. ”

“She just…” Avery shakes his head, his blonde hair falling into his eyes, “something about her feels different.”

I nod. “I know.”

Avery is rarely affected this much by Omegas. But when he falls, he falls hard, and I can see that’s happening right now in front of me.

He’s never preemptively tried to build a nest for anyone, either.

Neither have I, but instinctively I’m shrugging off my jacket and tossing it onto the bed, too, so my scent permeates the room.

I’m offering her something that smells like me, even though she hasn’t expressed any interest in us and doesn’t even know about this room.

Is that crazy?

Probably.

But I don’t do things halfway.

“Poe isn’t going to like this,” Avery breathes, and I scowl.

“It doesn’t matter. He likes her, I can tell.”

Avery makes a face. “I’m not sure about that.”

“He does. She wouldn’t affect him like that if he didn’t. When’s the last time he’s had anyone match his energy?” I chuckle.

That’s the other thing I immediately liked about Piper.

She’s shy at first, but her passion ignites when something sets her off.

At the rescue, it was her eyes lighting up when she saw the Siamese kitten we brought.

At our house, it was Poe annoying her and getting under her skin.

It’s wonderful.

“It’s late,” Avery says, yawning. “I should go to sleep, but I also want to stay up and see if the traps work.”

I smirk. “You just want a reason to contact her,” I say, and he chuckles.

“Kind of. It’ll also be kind of fun to learn how to do all the trapping,” he admits. “I like the idea that we’re helping them, too.”

Avery won’t admit it, but he’s secretly been wanting to get a cat for the last few years.

But he’s always been pretty shy about asking for what he wants, despite my and Poe’s attempts to help him find his voice.

“We’ll just bring them all inside to piss off Poe. We can place the traps on his bed and get sardine juice all over them.”

Avery laughs, his eyes softening.

“Yeah,” he murmurs. “I just think…” he swallows and clears his throat. “I have a feeling about her, you know? That she’s the one.”

I nod. “You don’t have to explain it to me. I’m there with you. We just have to find a way to win her over.”

Something about Piper is different.

This primal, needy urge to claim her runs through my veins, and my mouth waters every time I recall her scent.

If Poe doesn’t see it, I’ll make him see it.

She’s the one for us.