Page 52 of Pack Scratch Fever
“I’m assuming that’s a good thing?”
I have no idea what the big deal is about a cat bathing itself in front of me, but if I’m the source of Piper’s happiness, I’ll take it.
“It’s a fuckinggreatthing. It’s amazing,” she says under her breath, almost to herself. “You made my day, Poe. I’m not joking.”
I’m confused but pleased. I can’t remember the last time I made anyone’s day, especially with how grouchy I’ve been.
“I’m glad,” I say. “Your smile is stunning,” I add, unable to look away.
I can’t stop staring at her. I drink in her features, ashamed that I had the audacity to treat her so poorly in the first place.
The first time I came to the rescue, I looked at her, but I didn’tseeher.
I didn’t realize I was in the company of my scent match.
Of a stubborn, clever woman with a big heart and a hint of melancholy that I want to uncover the source of.
At my compliment, she shakes her head and looks away, staring down at her desk.
“I’ll take you up on that offer for dinner,” she says finally.
A weight lifts from my chest.
It’s just dinner, but for the first time in months, there’s something else inside me besides bitterness and exhaustion.
There’s hope.
I’m grateful that Avery and Maddox are setting up the nesting room.
Because if I had it my way…
She would spend her Heat with us.
11
PIPER
I need to be spayed.
I’m worse than a feral female cat.
For the past week, I’ve been rubbing against blankets, sheets, towels and any soft material that I can get my hands on.
Today, Blair wears a fuzzy sweater to work, and I can’t stop petting it for an hour.
“This is what you get,” she says after the tenth time of my whining about my symptoms. “You shouldn’t have messed with your suppressants for so long.”
She offers me no compassion, even when I sweat profusely and gulp down glass after glass of ice water.
“I’m going to die,” I groan.
“You’re not going to die,” Blair says matter-of-factly, trimming the nails of one of our newest rescues. “Let this be a lesson to you for next time.”
The new prescription suppressants I’m taking work, but the hormonal changes are intense. After emailing my doctor anddoing extra bloodwork, she confirmed that these were just side effects of going back to the proper dose.
My body has put off its natural impulses for so long that everything is magnified.
She also gave me another gentle reminder never to mess with my medications again.
