Page 5 of Pack Scratch Fever
Not enough.
I’d rather put my energy into something or someone else.
Improve someone who’s not me.
Ignore my Omega needs.
But those thoughts are too dark to ruminate on for long, and it’s hard to stay in that bad place in my head when the family exits the cat playroom, ready to adopt the two kittens, Smokey and Bear.
“I’ll be back in a bit,” Blair says after the family leaves with the kittens, gathering up a box of supplies. “Sorry to be a bummer. Just think about what I said, okay? And please,pleasedon’t abuse your suppressants.”
I nod, but it’s easier said than done.
The reason I avoid my Heats is that it reminds me of how painfully alone I am, but that sounds too ridiculous to say to Blair.
She leaves me alone with Alvin, who cheerfully purrs in my lap while I update our website on the front desk computer.
We now have space for more cats, which thrills me, along with receiving a notification of monetary donation.
It fills my heart and helps me ignore the impending anxiety that I’ll need to address my Heat soon.
I don’t even notice that someone’s walked in until a tiny, white furry face peeks its head up at me.
It’s an adorable kitten with clean white fur and piercing blue eyes.
“I need you to take this,” says a gruff voice, and I look up in disbelief to see an Alpha towering over me. He scowls at the kitten that he’s placed on my counter, even as the feline tries to crawl back into his massive palms.
And I know exactly why the kitten won’t stop going after him.
The man in front of me smells exactly like catnip.
2
POE
The first thingI notice is the scent.
I open the door to the small building and am overwhelmed by the tartness of lemon pie and the spicy aroma of mint.
It smells heavenly in here, and for a moment I’m distracted from the tiny razor blades that claw into my chest.
I reach the counter and see a pretty brunette Omega, her lips pulled into a small, secret smile as she stares at the computer screen.
The scent belongs to her.
She doesn’t acknowledge me until I place the furry menace on the counter, and finally, her brown eyes look up at me.
No, not brown.
They’re hazel.
“I need you to take this,” I say, sounding ruder than I anticipated. But the animal has been stressing me out since I found it, and if she doesn’t help me, I may have a damn breakdown.
She looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “Are you surrendering this kitten?” she asks in disbelief, as if I’ve committed a grave act. Reaching over, she scoops the little creature in her arms, even though it still tries to reach for me with white paws. “They really like you. I don’t know if I’ll be able to take them,” she coos, giving the kitten a gentle pet on the head.
“I’m notsurrendering,” I insist. “I found it. Maybe it’s chipped or something, I don’t know.”
A soft little mew sounds from the animal, and she still gazes at it fondly. “It,” she mutters under her breath, annoyed.
