Page 116 of Pack Scratch Fever

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He has a big heart and a genuine goodness about him.

I no longer have Maddox, the wild boy with no parents who had to grow up quickly. The Alpha that’s smart, witty, and maybe too flirty, but still treated me like I was worthy.

I cover my mouth and stifle my sobs.

Then, there’s Poe.

I thought I had found my equal in him, that he understood what it’s like to punish yourself and never feel like enough.

I thought he understood me.

But instead, I’m losing the rescuebecauseof him.

Maybe it wasn’t intentional, but he, and by extension, his pack, has damaged everything I’ve cared for.

My sobs echo in my bedroom as my head aches. I cry so hard I end up rolling onto my side and dry heaving, bile burning in my throat.

My inner Omega weeps as well, mourning something that could have been.

She grieves the chance to start over and find somewhere she could have belonged.

It’s all been ripped away.

Once I’m out of tears, I curl into a ball and wipe my eyes.

I eventually fall asleep; my body wracked with shivers and my heart breaking.

23

AVERY

There’sa cat outside the window.

It’s perched on a bench, licking fluffy white paws and rubbing its face.

One of its ears is clipped, indicating that it's fixed and vaccinated.

My face falls.

Piper taught me that.

The creature outside my classroom has no idea that I’m close to having a breakdown because of it.

It’s been three days since my heart was torn into pieces.

Three days since Piper ended any possibility of us being together.

And it’s all because of Poe and his self-destructive tendencies.

He was so lost in his work that he didn’t realize he had basically signed a death warrant for Piper’s rescue.

It’s unforgivable, and the three of us know it.

The cat flops onto its back on the bench, happily exposing its belly.

Piper would have loved to see it.

I would love to snap a picture on my phone and send it to her, but she has all three of us blocked.

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