Page 155 of Pack Scratch Fever
“He’s done so much for us, sweetie! I love him! You'd better keep him!”
“Yeah,” Poe deadpans. “You'd better keep him, Piper.”
“That’s the plan,” I say, and he smiles softly.
“Gary threatened to kill him, too,” Mari whisper-yells, delighted, “if he ever hurts you again.”
My eyes widen at Poe, who simply shrugs.
“I would do the same thing,” he says, then strides over to me. Without hesitation, I bury my face in his chest, inhaling his rich scent while his arms come to my waist.
“You have a lot of people who care about you here,” he says, resting his chin on the top of my head. “I’ve been threatened more than once in the past couple of days.”
He doesn’t sound upset at all, especially if his purr is any indication. I hum contentedly in his hold, the vibrations from his chest sending delicious shivers down my spine.
“You purr much better than a cat,” I chuckle.
“I would fucking hope so.”
We stay like that for a few moments, Mari chatting excitedly to Avery and Maddox while Poe just holds me in the cat playroom. Kittens tumble around us, batting at toys and scratching excitedly on posts.
“What were you doing here?” I ask, stepping out of his hold.
He scratches at his stubble, looking thoughtful. “I didn’t want to overwhelm you with this right now,” he says, “but I have a feeling I can’t hide much from you when it comes to this rescue.”
“You’re right. Tell me rightnow.”
“There are ways to utilize the empty space of the building,” he says. “You have all this extra room for the rescue, and Mari was giving me some ideas. You work with a low-cost animal clinic, right? Apparently, their lease is up. Mari thought it might be a good idea to have them move into the same building as you, especially because their rent would bemuchcheaper,” he emphasizes, smirking. “Free, in fact.”
“Can you make that happen?” I ask in disbelief.
In a perfect world, the clinic would be right next to the expanded rescue, with more space for cats.
“I can make anything happen for you,” Poe responds. “And I will.”
Mari comes up behind me as I stare at Poe in shock. “We also want a bigger playroom, Poe,” she says. “You need to work on that next.”
Poe nods. “Of course, Mari.”
I whirl around on her. “Mari, these guys have done enough?—”
“There is always more to be done when it comes to cats,” Avery says, and I turn to see him holding a white kitten in his arms.
Snow.
The sweet cat nuzzles his face, and Avery closes his kind eyes in bliss, rubbing his own cheek against the cat. Maddox enters the playroom as well, dangling a feather toy on a stick.
“Avery! Don’t scent mark the cats,” Maddox says. “Don’t be a weirdo.”
I laugh, enamored by Avery’s actions and his kind heart.
He may be an Alpha, but he’s gentle, soft, and vulnerable in a way I never expected an Alpha to be.
He surprises me, just like Poe and Maddox do.
“You’re beautiful,” Poe says, interrupting my train of thought.
I bite my lip to keep from smiling.
