Chapter 13
IVAN
It’s the best week of my life.
“Mom, you’re going to love her,” I say over our phone call. “She’s the best. She’s got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met.”
“I can’t wait,” she says. “I truly can’t wait. I’m so happy for you.”
My past few days have been spent helping animals, working with Logan, and sneaking around during my lunch breaks to kiss Maeve. I’ve never smiled so much, and I even whistle on my way to work.
It would be embarrassing if I wasn’t so happy.
“So, what’s her family like?” my mom asks, and I freeze outside the building.
“Well, she has a brother she’s close with. But everyone else, not so much,” I murmur.
“That’s a shame. Both her and her brother are part of our family now, then.”
I smile. “Thanks.”
“Just be good to her, Ivan. Cherish her.” Her voice is wistful.
“Of course.”
I’ve learned how not to treat someone, courtesy of my father, who abandoned his wife and children when I was twelve.
They weren’t scent matches—my mother is a Beta, and so is my father—but at one point, I assumed they were in love.
Turns out, Dad had a whole other family, and we haven’t seen him since the night he left.
I vowed to never, ever hurt someone the way I saw my mom hurt that night.
I haven’t said it to her yet, but I hope Maeve knows I’ll never leave her.
The only way we wouldn’t be together is if she left me.
The thought is a terrible one, and I refuse to worry or dwell on it.
She’s my scent match, and I plan on being the most supportive Alpha she can ask for.
After saying goodbye to my mom, I enter the building to the rescue to say hello to Maeve right before my shift.
She’s at the front, her nose buried in Alvin’s fur while she chats with Piper, Blair, and…
Maeve’s brother, Avery.
I’ve met Avery before, when Maeve and I weren’t dating.
And based on the way he’s looking at me with narrowed eyes and thinned lips, it’s looking like we’re about to have a private conversation.
“Ivan!” Maeve says with a smile, placing Alvin back on the counter and rushing to me, burying her face in my chest. I wrap an arm around her waist, her chamomile scent racing through my bloodstream.
“Can you talk some sense into Maeve, please?” Piper asks.
Maeve snorts into my chest. “About what?” I ask. Blair has her arms crossed, and Avery still eyes me suspiciously. I nod at him. “Good to see you again, Avery.”
“Likewise,” he murmurs. He watches us warily, and I can understand why.
Her brother is all Maeve had growing up.
Of course he’s going to be protective of his little sister.
Maeve steps out of the hug and turns back to her friends. “I can go by myself,” she argues. “You guys are just being dramatic.”
“Go where?” I ask.
“Yeah, and what if there’s a snowstorm?” Blair shoots back.
“You act like I’ve never driven in the snow before,” Maeve sighs.
“You haven’t,” Avery counters.
“What is going on?” I ask, confused.
“I am not about to take a road trip with you, Avery. Not when you complain the whole time about my driving!” Maeve snaps. “This is ridiculous!”
Blair shoots me a look, irritated. “I’m sure Ivan will go with you,” she says.
Avery shakes his head, mumbling something under his breath.
“I really need someone to tell me what’s going on,” I say.
Maeve turns to me, her eyes twinkling with delight. “We need to rescue a mama and her kittens.”
I frown. “That’s not out of the ordinary.”
“The kittens are four hours away,” Piper says, amused. She reaches over the counter to cup Avery’s cheek, and he softens. “And Maeve has so kindly volunteered to pick them up for us.”
“I’m off next weekend, and you two aren’t,” Maeve argues. “I don’t mind doing it.”
“And we’re saying you should have someone with you,” Blair says. “A second person to help watch over the cats. Like your brother, who has so kindly volunteered.”
“Hell no. I am not sitting for six hours with Avery, not with the way he judges my driving—”
“I don’t judge you, Maeve, what the hell—”
“I’ll go with you,” I say. Everyone stops to look at me. “You said it’s next weekend. I’m off.”
Besides, having a weekend away from Maeve? No thanks.
I’ll be miserable at best, physically ill at worst.
At my offer, her scent immediately sweetens. “Are you sure?” she says. “I mean, you’re going to basically be stuck with me in a car for hours on end.”
I raise an eyebrow and smirk, and she bursts out laughing while Avery groans.
“See? Problem solved,” Piper says enthusiastically.”
“You know how to drive in the snow, right?” Avery asks me suspiciously.
As if I’d ever put Maeve in danger. I bite back a growl, knowing how inappropriate that would be.
He’s just looking out for his sister.
“I do,” I reply, then turn to Maeve. “Logan grew up in the mountains though. Maybe we should ask him if he wants to come. It wouldn’t hurt to have a vet with us, too, just in case. We’re both off next weekend.”
Avery looks like he wants to die, and Piper gives him a sympathetic look.
“That would be great,” Maeve says, her face lighting up. “The kittens and their mom aren’t high risk, but having the extra help makes me feel better.”
“I know how to take care of kittens too, Maeve,” Avery grumbles. She turns to her brother and scoffs.
“I’d prefer the veterinarian and vet technician to come with me,” she says, and Avery drops his head in defeat.
“Of course I’ll go with you,” I murmur. “All you had to do was ask, silly girl.”
Maeve beams. “Road trip! I can’t wait.”
I can’t wait, either.
An adventure to rescue kittens with the girl of my dreams?
I couldn’t ask for anything better.
Logan is on board, too.
Maeve had asked him in between patients, and he had looked shocked, to say the least.
But he agreed, and now the plans are in place.
I’m not na?ve. There’s a chance that Maeve could scent match with him while we’re on the trip, and as long as she’s comfortable with it, so am I.
Frankly, I’m sick of Logan making heart eyes at my Omega and not doing anything about it, especially when it’s obvious she likes him, too.
I’m halfway out the door for my lunch break, waiting to meet Maeve, when I hear Avery call my name.
“Hey,” I say. “What’s up?”
He appears just as stressed as before, and his hair is messy, as if he’s been tugging at it anxiously.
“Do you have a moment?”
“Sure.”
I expected this conversation eventually, and while I’m a little nervous, I also respect Avery for it.
We walk to the other side of the building, away from the front windows.
I lean against the wall, waiting patiently for Avery to stop fretting.
Instead, he starts to pace.
“Maeve told me about the scent match,” he says.
I raise an eyebrow. “I figured.”
“Congratulations,” he sighs.
“You don’t sound like you mean it,” I counter.
He stops and inhales slowly. “I do,” he says. “I truly do. And I’m sure I’m going to have this conversation if she scent matches with anyone else. But I want to say…I’m glad it’s you.”
I blink. “Wait. Really? In there, you looked like you were going to have a heart attack.”
He huffs out a pained laugh. “Yeah, because she’s my little sister. She’s sensitive. And now you have the potential to break her heart.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” I say lowly.
He shrugs. “I don’t think you would. It’s just a feeling that’s never going to go away for me. It’s Maeve. To me, sometimes she’s still the little girl that would cry if she thought I was catching a cold.”
I quirk my lip. That does sound like something a mini-Maeve would do.
“She feels a lot, all the time,” Avery adds. “Even when something tragic happens and she shuts down, it’s not because she’s closed off, it’s because she’s drowning in the emotions. There may be times where you have to pull her out of it.”
I nod. “I’m aware. I knew this since the first week I met her, since the first time she cried when she thought she trimmed a cat’s claw too close.”
He smiles sadly. “Yeah. Just watch out for her, okay? Especially with this health anxiety she’s having with the cats. I worry about her.”
“As you should. You’re a good brother,” I say. “You want the best for her, and so do I.”
“And if goes without saying,” he adds lowly, “you hurt her, and I’ll hurt you.”
Ah. There it is.
“I’m not going to,” I say earnestly. “I know you won’t necessarily believe me; but I’ll show it over time. Your sister is the love of my life.” I shrug. “I’m not leaving her side.”
“Good.” Avery clenches his jaw. “Sorry about the talk, I’m just,” he motions with his hand, “protective.”
“You’d be a shitty brother if you weren’t.”
“Hey!”
A third voice joins the conversation, and Maeve pokes her head from around the corner, her amber eyes narrowed. “You guys aren’t slick. Avery, stop embarrassing me. You owe me a salmon bowl for my troubles.”
Once her brother rolls his eyes, she laughs. “And stop hogging my boyfriend.” She comes up to me and takes my hand, leading me away. “I’m not going to miss my lunch with him just because you’re freaking out.”
“I’m not freaking out!” Avery calls, and she snickers while we walk away.
“It seems like it runs in the family,” I murmur, and she pokes me in the side.
“I don’t freak out. I just anticipate all possible outcomes, all at once. It’s called being prepared.”
“Mm-hmm.” I wrap my arm around her waist. “Call it whatever you want, sweetheart.”
“I will.” She stands on her tiptoes to kiss me, and all is right in the world.
I can scent Maeve’s happiness and contentment right now, but that doesn’t mean that those fears won’t eventually rear their ugly head again.
When they do, I hope she’ll allow me to be there for her.
I hope she’ll let me stop her from drowning in her emotions.