Chapter 14
MAEVE
It’s time for my first music lesson with Fang, but my mind is everywhere else.
I keep thinking about being alone with both Ivan and Logan in a car for the day, watching over a cat family.
The plan is to drive the four hours, grab the mom and her kittens, then drive back that same day. We’ll transfer bring them to Blair’s house, and she’ll foster them until we find a permanent home for them.
It will be a long day, but we’ll end it by getting dinner together.
My Heat isn’t due yet.
Sure, having my scent match with me might make things…spicy, but I won’t turn into a needy, feral Omega.
When it happens though, it’s going to be phenomenal.
I am stoked about my Heat.
Ivan already has a ton of supplies for me, and I’ve been on the internet looking through inspiration boards.
Best of all? The worries have died down significantly.
My panic is still present, but as of late, it’s been manageable.
All the cats are healthy, the rescue is doing well, and the videos I make for us keep going viral.
I can’t remember ever being this happy, and I hope I can continue to chase the feeling.
I still can’t believe Logan agreed to go with us, if I’m being honest.
He knows Ivan and I scent matched, yet he appears excited for this trip.
What is my Omega life right now?
“You seem happy,” Fang observes. We sit outside the coffee shop as I strum his guitar, going back and forth between cords.
It’s repetitive, but the results are worth it.
I’ll be playing for Bean in no time.
“Happier than usual,” he amends when I cock my head, surprised. “It’s a nice look on you.”
I hum contentedly. There’s a gentle breeze, and it carries his leather scent in the air, making my mouth water.
“I’m going on a rescue mission this weekend,” I say. “Going to pick up some kittens and a mom that need a home. They’re in Artemis County.”
“Really? That’s far. Does that mean you won’t be able to make our next lesson?”
He keeps a straight face, but his eyes can’t lie. There’s a flicker of disappointment in them.
“That’s what it means,” I murmur. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey! Don’t be sorry. You’ve saving kittens.” His lip quirks. “Who am I to stop a cat superhero?”
I snort and gently place his guitar down against the table. “You want to see them?” I pull out my phone and scroll to the photo of Agnes and her five babies.
Agnes is gorgeous, with fluffy white fur and blue eyes. Her five kittens are in a cuddle pile against her, all sound asleep.
Fang takes my phone and peers at the photo. “They’re beautiful,” he says, his voice low. I shiver at his tone.
“We’re dropping them off at Blair’s home; she’s going to foster them. The goal is to get everyone adopted out, including Agnes, the mom, hopefully with at least one of her kittens.”
Fang continues to stare at the photo. “We?” he asks.
“My boyfriend Ivan, and Logan, a vet at the animal clinic next door to the rescue.”
I watch Fang’s face carefully, my chest tightening after I mention Ivan.
I suddenly care very much about how Fang reacts to what I say.
“He’s my scent match,” I add, and his eyes finally meet mine.
They swim with emotion. There is so much behind his expression that I can’t decipher, besides the unmistakable darkness of hunger.
“Scent match, huh?” he says darkly. “Lucky him.”
My cunt aches at his words.
“He is lucky.” I hold his gaze.
“Sounds like a fun road trip. Since you won’t be at your lesson, it looks like my weekend is free.”
“Interesting,” I quip. I squirm in my seat, and he notices, giving me a wolfish smile.
“Is there room for one more on that trip?”
I blink. “Really?”
“Sure. I haven’t been out of Luna County in a while.”
“You want to go on a road trip with me, my boyfriend, and a veterinarian to save some cats?”
I was expecting some flirty, jealous banter, but not this.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m addicted to your company,” he says, then holds up my phone. “And those cats are pretty fucking cute. I’ve been looking to adopt for a while; maybe it’s meant to be.”
My mouth falls open. “If you adopt Agnes and least one of her babies I’ll love you forever,” I blurt.
He quirks an eyebrow. “I mean, shit, then it looks like I’m a cat dad again.”
I want to kiss him, but I hold myself back from doing it.
Instead, I just grin, my face hurting from smiling, and take my phone back.
“I’m really glad I’m not in your class anymore,” I breathe, and he chuckles.
“I’m glad, too. I would never go on a road trip with one of my students.”
It isn’t until he’s walking me to my car that I realize the gravity of what he’s agreed to.
I’m going to be alone with my scent match and two crushes for hours at a time.
Also, my brother is going to kill me.
Ivan won’t stop laughing.
We’re lying side by side in bed, each of us on the same chapter of the cozy cat murder mystery.
“I can’t concentrate while you’re laughing at me,” I whine, and he gently plucks the book out of my hands. I readjust to lay my head on his chest, and he wraps an arm around me.
“I’m not laughing at you,” he amends, kissing the top of my head. “I’m laughing at the situation, and the fact that I was right.”
“Right about what?”
He pulls one of the blankets over me, a soft throw with pink and lavender cats printed on it. I snuggle into the fabric, my inner Omega sighing in contentment.
“I knew you liked Fang, and you whacked me in the face with a pillow for it.”
“Yeah, well…it was more complicated when I was in his class,” I mutter.
“And now he’s so enamored with you that you’re getting free guitar lessons out of him,” he says, playfully tugging on strands of my purple hair. “God, we should have started dating a long time ago.”
I scoff. “We’re making up for lost time now, aren’t we?”
His lips press to the top of my head. “Yeah. We are. This weekend is going to be great.”
“I’m not sure how Fang and Logan will interact,” I grumble, “But I know you two will get along great.”
“I wouldn’t worry about Logan,” Ivan says. “As long as Fang is a good person, it will be fine.”
I close my eyes and sigh. Sometimes the words Ivan says seem too good to be a true. There’s always a whisper in the back of mind, a constant what if that spins around in my head.
What if my panic and worry come back tenfold? What if something happens, and then he and Logan decide they don’t want anything to do with me?
Fang doesn’t know about my irrational thoughts. What if—
“Hey,” Ivan says softly. “Where did you go?”
I burrow my face in his side. “Nowhere,” I mumble.
He knows I’m lying, but he holds me closer to him, and I breathe in his summery apple scent.
I’m still not able to explain my fears, especially when they barely make sense to me.
“It’s going to be great,” he assures me, stroking my hair.
“Yeah?” I chuckle. “What if my Heat comes during the trip?”
“Then it’s an even better trip,” he says, waggling his eyebrows.
“You’re ridiculous,” I huff.
“We will pack as many supplies are you need. Or, if you’re worried, we can pick up the kittens without you.”
“What?” I sit up and look at him, aghast. “Absolutely not.”
His look is teasing, and I lean down to kiss him. He hums contentedly against my mouth, and when he pulls away, his pupils are wide.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs, caressing my face. “It’s going to be great. You’re going to save the kittens, and we have good company to go with us.”
Ivan’s right.
It’s only a day trip, and my Heat isn’t due for another week.
He gently taps my forehead. “Get out of there,” he murmurs. “I can see the cogs in your mind turning. Everything will be okay.”
I lay back down on him, and his chest rumbles with a mighty purr.
“Does it still count as a book club if I ask you to read to me?” I murmur.
“Of course,” he says. “We’re still reading together, technically. Chapter six, page fifty, right?”
“Yes.” I snuggle into him while he holds the book and listen to the soothing cadence of his voice.
His purr keeps me content, and a sense of calm washes over me the longer his chest vibrates.
It’s only a day trip—we will be back the same day.
Nothing crazy can happen in that amount of time.