Chapter 2
IVAN
The girl next door is remarkable.
Her sweet chamomile scent still lingers in the exam room, and for the rest of my shift I try not to let thoughts of her fill my head.
But that’s impossible.
Maeve is a ball of light that waltzed into my life and made everything brighter.
She’s my first thought in the morning, and the final image in my mind before I go to bed.
In short, I am down bad for this Omega.
It would be embarrassing if I had any ounce of pride when it comes to Maeve, but I just don’t.
There’s no hiding how I feel about her. I know I look at her like she hung the moon and stars.
With her ever-changing hair, tempting scent, and sympathetic heart, she’s perfect in my eyes.
She worries about the cats, and I wish I could take that fear from her.
I also know that she’s embarrassed by it, but she doesn’t need to be.
It just shows how big her heart is—her compassion for animals is something to be admired, not shamed.
But I’m not sure how to tell her that.
There’s a lot I want to say to her; but I’m still not sure what the right words are.
Her attraction to me is obvious—her pupils widen, her face flushes, and her scent spikes with sweetness when she sees me.
Everyone with a pair of eyes knows how I feel about her, too.
The scent match hasn’t happened yet, but even if it never does, I don’t care.
I just want to be in her life somehow.
I just want her to let me love her.
She can have the world’s largest pack—I would just be honored to have a moment of her time.
Sure, it’s cheesy, but I think Maeve would appreciate cheesy.
She’s the first girl I haven’t worried about sounding too nerdy to. I can just be myself and talk about my interests without her appearing bored or feigning interest.
Not everyone finds a vet tech that reads too many mysteries interesting, but Maeve does.
And I find her fascinating.
“I’ll be back,” I tell Ramona as I head to my lunch break. “Got to drop something off at the rescue.”
“Tell Maeve I say hi,” she chirps knowingly, and I grin.
“Of course.”
I may have gone a little overboard with the humidifiers.
Why would the rescue want a used one when I can just run to the store and grab a new one?
Or three?
Piper’s eyes turn wide as saucers when I enter the rescue with the boxes in tow.
“What’s all this?” she asks, standing from her desk.
“For the sneezing cat.” I place the items on the counter, and Piper shakes her head.
“Ivan. Come on. You didn’t have to do all that. We have enough funding to buy our own—”
“I don’t mind,” I interrupt her. “Really.”
But Piper is still frowning. “This is too much—”
“Ivan!” Maeve calls, entering from the back, her bright eyes piercing. My chest tightens when I see her, and a chill of delight races up my spine.
Omega, my inner Alpha purrs.
And judging by the look on her face, Maeve is pleased. Her grin is wide and brilliant, and when she smiles like this, the dimples show on her face.
She’s glorious with her wavy violet hair, cream complexion, and black leather jacket with combat boots.
A little pop punk princess.
“He spoiled us, Maeve,” Piper says. “Three new humidifiers for the cats.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she says, but unlike Piper, she doesn’t mean it.
Maeve loves that I went above and beyond for the cats.
I would do it even if Maeve wasn’t there, though.
Animals deserve the world. It’s an honor to help them, and if running to the store during my lunch break can improve their lives, there’s no reason I shouldn’t do it.
“Rather be safe than sorry, right?” I tell her, and she beams.
Her scent fills the room, a calming, rich chamomile, and Piper excuses herself to the back.
Poor Piper must be sick of seeing the both of us together, just smiling at each other all the time, but I can’t find it in myself to care.
Maeve makes me happy. She’s one of my closest friends, and every time I’m around her, the day is better.
“We can set one up in front and one in the playroom,” Maeve says. “And we can place the third near Bean.”
“Sure. I’ve got another ten minutes on my lunch. How has Bean been?”
At the mention of the kitten, her shoulders hunch. “Still sneezing. I’m trying not to freak out too much about it,” she mumbles.
“These will help. I promise.”
I wish there was another way for me to soothe her and calm her fears.
I would love to purr for her, to hold her against my chest until I rumble her worries away.
But this friendship is so precious to me, so important to me, that I’m not ready to risk it just yet.
So, a humidifier will have to do for now.
Eventually, though?
I’m going to purr for this girl until the cows come home.
Well, cats, in this case.
“You want to help me set these up?” she asks. “Do you have any time left?” Her hopeful face and blooming scent have me nodding instantly.
“Of course,” I say. “I’ll make time.”
Her answering grin makes my heart constrict.
“Great!” she chirps as she grabs a box, and I follow her into the cat playroom.
“I will never get over what you, Piper, and Blair have done,” I murmur. “There’s no other rescue around like this.”
She shrugs as she places the humidifier on top of a cat tree and begins unboxing it.
A fluffy grey tabby cat with white paws tries to jump up and see what she’s doing, but she gently bats them away.
“It was already like this when I started,” she says.
“Blair and Piper were here, and then Poe, Piper’s packmate, bought the building.
I’m just happy that I get paid to love on cats.
” Once the box is open, the tabby stands on its hind legs and swats at the lid. “Creed. Stop it.”
“Here.” I stand next to her, breathing in her scent, and take my time shimmying the humidifier out of the package. “I have a feeling Creed is after the box.”
She grins at me. “I think so, too.” She places the box on the ground next to the cat tree, and Creed, despite his thick size, attempts to nosedive into it.
He’s not successful. His body skids along the floor, halfway stuck in the box, and bumps into the wall.
She laughs delightedly.
“Cats and boxes,” I murmur. “A deadly pair.”
“I swear, half these cats would rather play in the box the cat tree came in than the actual tower itself!” she chuckles. “You would think being plucked off the street would make you want to enjoy the finer things in life, but nope.”
“Typical cat behavior,” I agree. I set up the humidifier in the corner of the room, away from the kennels.
“They should be fine with it here,” I say. “Bean should be breathing better in no time. I’ll set up his, too.”
Speaking of the kitten, Maeve grows very still. “Yeah,” she chokes out.
“Hey,” I tell her gently. “He’s safely away from the other cats right now, and the humidifiers will help. Have any of the cats here been sick before?”
“Blair said that one time Ash caught a cold, and gave it to Alvin,” she grumbles. “But they always keep an eye on things like this.” She sighs and heads to the wall on the opposite side of the room. She sits with her legs crossed, her hands resting on her thighs and her back against the wall.
I join her, stretching my legs out next to her. “Everyone here wants the cats safe and healthy,” I tell her gently. “And we’ve got the best vets, too. We have Doctor Jolie, and then you’ll meet Logan tomorrow. There’s nothing to worry about, Maeve.”
“Talk to me about something else,” she murmurs. “Distract me.”
Her mouth is formed into a thin line as she stares straight ahead, and I rack my brain to think of anything else besides the kitten.
“I hate the newest book I’m reading,” I tell her.
That causes her to snort and turn to me. “Then why are you reading it?”
“Because I’m halfway through, and I don’t want to abandon it. I still need to know how it ends.” I grin, and she chuckles.
“Tell me about it, then.”
“Imagine a detective that ignores the biggest clue possible in solving his sister’s murder. Then, when he’s starting to figure it out, another murder happens and he abandons his original lead. It’s silly.”
“Yuck. What was the original clue he ignored?”
“You’re not going to believe it,” I warn her, waggling my eyebrows.
“Tell me.” She leans toward me, her warm eyes curious.
“Cat litter.”
She blinks. “Huh?”
“There was DNA in the cat litter, and he missed it.”
“What the hell kind of books are you reading, Ivan?”
“Murder mysteries with cat litter, apparently. I joined a detective book club online—I don’t recommend it.”
Maeve looks at me like I’m crazy, and it only makes me grin wider.
“Of all the book genres in the world, you choose crappy detective ones,” she says, quirking a brow.
“Apparently.”
“Don’t they make like, cozy cat mysteries or something?” She waves her hands in exasperation. “You know, something better than that?”
Mission accomplished.
“Let’s go to the bookstore and find out.”
She sticks out her leg and nudges my shin with the tip of her combat boot.
“Only if you buy me books.”
“Deal.”
“And a coffee. And an overpriced cookie.”
“It’s a date.”
Her face flushes, and she suddenly becomes very interested in the chipped purple nail polish on her thumb.
“Anyway,” I say, standing. “I’ve got to back to the clinic. But I’ll check in with Bean, and loop in Doctor Jolie, just in case. Okay?”
She nods, but there’s a tiny crease in between her brows that I want to smooth over with my thumb.
“Hey,” I tell her, holding out my hand to help her up. “Cheer up. You’re saving cats and doing the world a huge favor at the same time.”
“No, that’s you,” she says, taking my outstretched hand. I swallow at the sparks that shoot down my spine from her touch. “You’re the one patching up the injured and sick animals.”
“Yeah, well, who brings them to get help in the first place? We make a good team.” I reluctantly let go of her hand, even though I want to hold onto it as long as possible.
Maybe just lead her outside the building and take her back to my apartment, tuck her into a nest with the secret supplies I have stashed in my closet.
I bought them just for her, even though we’re not together.
It’s a just in case scenario.
Even if we don’t end up together, those nesting blankets will only be for her.
“Thanks again,” she says, stepping away from my touch. “I mean it, Ivan. For everything.” Her amber eyes shine with sincerity as she gazes at me. “Thanks for being so patient with me and Bean.”
I shake my head. “You don’t require patience.”
“Oh, I very much do,” she giggles.
Not for me. I’ll never get enough of you.
But those words don’t come out. Instead, I hold eye contact with her a bit too long, until her lips slightly part and we’re both staring at each other intently.
Now would be the time to ask her out officially.
I inhale a breath. “Hey--”
“MROW.”
Creed proudly places his latest kill, a plush mouse, at my foot, and interrupts the moment. He sits and looks up at me with green eyes, black tail swishing in anticipation.
I sigh, pick up the mouse, and toss it across the playroom, and the cat gallops after.
“I’ll see you later,” Maeve laughs, unaware of what I was going to ask her. The moment is ruined.
“Later,” I say, my smile slightly wavering.
There’s always tomorrow.
Maybe then, I won’t be cockblocked by a cat.