Page 126 of Pack Scratch Fever
I can control my own dreams.
“Poe, Maddox, and Avery don’t like cats,” Blair continues, her voice garbled. “Why would they help you?”
I need to get out of here.
I turn around to head out of the building, but an iron gate rolls down from the ceiling and crashes to the floor, locking me in.
“You have to pay your parents back,” Blair says, her voice monotone. “And be a good Omega. A good daughter.”
“WHERE ARE THE CATS, BLAIR?”
The lights go out in the coffee shop, and I’m shrouded in darkness, erasing Blair.
Wake up, Piper.
Wake up.
A spotlight shines on the floor, filling my vision.
I’m frozen in place as my one-night stand steps into the light, holding Mister Whiskers in his arms.
I can’t even remember his name.
“Everyone who ever cared about you was wrong.” His voice is distorted as Mister Whiskers just stares at me, his scrunched-up face eyeing me disapprovingly. “You are everyone’s last choice, and nobody’s first.”
Then, Mister Whiskers reaches out and swipes me on the cheek with his paw, his claws catching on my skin and drawing blood.
He does it again.
And again.
“Wake up, Piper!” Mister Whiskers cries in a high-pitched voice.
“Wake up!”
The light extinguishes, but the swipes still continue.
My cheeks sting, and my shoulders shake.
“Piper, please!”
Water splashes on my face,and I sit up with a start, droplets rolling down my cheeks.
I meet Blair’s terrified face. She’s kneeling on the floor next to my mattress, towering over me, her lips slightly parted.
“What the hell?” I croak, and fire burns my throat. I try to tilt my head toward her, but a sharp ache slices through my neck.
Blair rummages something out of the plastic grocery bag next to her. “Open your mouth.”
Without arguing, I do. She shoves a thermometer under my tongue, then yanks the blankets off me, grabbing the hand with the scratch.
The thermometer beeps just as she rips the bandage off.
I don’t have the energy to yell. I just let out a groan, and the thermometer drops out of my mouth and onto my blanket.
“What thefuck, Piper! This is infected!” Blair yells, then grabs the thermometer and reads it. “And you have a fever. A high one.”
I yank my hand away. “S’fine,” I slur. “I want to sleep.”
