Chapter 29
MAEVE
My skin glows. There’s no other way to describe it.
I catch myself in my rearview mirror of my car my first day back to Furs and Purrs, pleased at my reflection.
My eyes are brighter, my violet hair shinier.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this rested, and I feel great.
There’s a quiet strength inside me I’ve never had before, and I know it’s due to the mating bonds with my pack.
Logan, Ivan, and Fang, all offer me different parts of themselves that make me a better person, just as I do for them.
I want to shout it from the rooftops.
Look what I have! I have a pack!
I skip through the front doors of the rescue, a huge grin on my face. I’m wearing my favorite leather skirt along with a pink tank top and black combat boots. Sparkly purple eyeshadow courtesy of Blair is dusted across my eyelids, and my hair is curled loosely.
Piper is at the front reception area along with Alvin. She claps her hands in delight, while Alvin greets me with a bored yawn.
“Welcome back,” she grins.
“You didn’t tell me that having a pack would be the best thing that ever happened to me,” I accuse. “You really undersold it.”
“Everyone’s experience is different, you brat. I don’t live in your head.”
“You don’t?” I reply sarcastically. “I wouldn’t recommend it, anyway.”
“I’m sure your pack wouldn’t mind poking around in there.” She pauses and comes around from the desk to pull me into a hug. “I’m proud of you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. This is a huge deal. Also, you’re glowing.”
“That’s what I thought, too!”
“Oh, she’s back!” Mari says, closing the playroom door behind her. She’s added another streak of lavender to her grey hair since I’ve been gone, and I wonder how long it will be until she colors her entire head. “You look wonderful!”
I don’t think I’ve ever had so many people genuinely happy for me at one time. Once Blair arrives, I’m sure she’ll say the same thing, along with Ramona and Doctor Jolie next door.
“Thank you, Mari,” I grin, then nod at her. “I’m liking the hair.”
“Oh, that’s because she has a date,” Piper says, and my jaw drops.
But Mari simply waves her hand in dismissal. “Hush. We don’t even know if it’s happening yet.”
“A date?” I cry. “A date?”
“He’s coming to the support group, and then they’re going to get coffee after.” Piper waggles her eyebrows.
“He’s coming for the group, and we might go get a coffee after,” Mari says. “You two need to stop with the rumors and gossip.”
Piper and I share a look of disbelief.
Suddenly, Mari is shy when it comes to her love life but wants to always be in ours.
But that’s a topic for another time, since today is the first support group.
Blair is leading it, and our packs will make an appearance, as well.
But that means I’ll have to deal with seeing Avery.
I may feel great, but I still haven’t settled everything with my brother.
We haven’t talked since my breakdown over Alvin. He called and left texts, but I’ve ignored them.
I just wasn’t ready.
But now, after bonding with my pack, I think I am.
He talked with Fang already, and I know that they’re on better terms now.
But is he mad at me?
I shut him out when I was hurting the most—will he understand why I did it, or forgive me?
A tiny pair of paws presses against the glass door, and familiar ocean blue eyes greet me.
“He’s still here?” I murmur in surprise, changing the subject.
“Yup,” Piper says. “Bean hasn’t clicked with anyone, yet. Only you.”
“That can’t be true,” I say. “He’s such a sweet boy.”
But I’m already making me way to the cat room, Mari holding the door open for me to slip inside.
Sure enough, Bean greets me by weaving between my legs and meowing loudly. I pick him up nuzzle the top of his cream head, pretending to nibble on his dark brown ears.
“I can hear his purr from here,” Mari says fondly. She joins me in the playroom, shutting the door behind her so the cats can’t run out.
“He’s a good boy,” I say wistfully.
Whoever takes him home will be extremely lucky.
His eyes are full of love, and despite his energy, he’s a gentle cat.
“He needs a good home,” Mari says pointedly. I look up at her and recognize the expression on her face.
It’s the one she uses when she knows she’s found the perfect parent for the cat.
“I…I can’t,” I say. “I want to, but I can’t.”
“Why not, honey?”
“Because…what if…”
Bean purrs happily against me, unaware of my dilemma.
What if something happens? What if he gets sick?
What if what if what if
“You have a vet and a vet tech in your pack,” Mari says. “The safest home he could be at would be yours, besides living here. Logan already has two cats, right?”
Bean would love Stella and Trooper. Stella would have a little hissy at first, but Trooper would welcome a little brother with open paws.
The purring subsides, and I realize that Bean has fallen asleep in my arms.
“I’ll think about it,” I say nervously.
The idea of someone else adopting Bean breaks my heart.
But the idea of caring for him scares me, too.
We have seven successful adoptions today.
Charity is amazing with the potential adopters and fosters, happily educating and providing resources.
We only have one new rescue, a plump grey and white tabby with an attitude, but Logan checks for a microchip, and said cat is successfully reunited with their tearful and grateful owner.
It is a great first day back. I spend my lunch with Logan, and about an hour before we close and the first support group meeting starts, my brother shows up.
It isn’t until I see him that I realize how much I missed him. He appears tired, but gives me small smile when he enters, a takeout bag in hand.
“A peace offering,” he says kindly, handing it to me. “For how I acted the other day.”
But there’s still a crease between his brow, the one he has when he’s worried and fretting about something.
“You want to talk outside?” I ask, and he sighs in relief.
“Yes,” he says. “If that’s okay with you,” he looks to Piper, who sits at the desk and raises an eyebrow.
“Avery, you don’t have to ask me permission to speak to your sister,” she chides.
“Well, in case she was busy,” he insists, but there’s a fondness in his eyes as he looks at her.
“Just be back before we start the group,” Piper says, and I nod.
“Of course.”
Nerves eat at me when I lead Avery outside to the bench, salmon bowl in hand.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt as soon as he joins me.
He looks at me incredulously. “What on earth could you be sorry about?”
I dance my fingers along the plastic lid of the bowl. “For not being honest. From keeping everything from you and lashing out.”
Avery shakes his head. “You had every right to do that. I panicked and got overprotective. You’re an adult, and you can make your own choices.”
I chew the inside of my cheek. “Yeah, but I still want your approval. I don’t want you to be mad at me,” I admit shamefully.
“Maeve,” he says softly. “I am never mad at you. The last time I was genuinely angry was when you ripped one of my old comic books, and that was a good ten years ago.”
I snort. “You have been upset at me since then. And it was an accident! Why would I do it on purpose?”
“I don’t know, how could it have possibly ripped like that? The page was split in half.”
I pop the lid off the bowl and dig in with my chopsticks. “I don’t know, it just happened,” I say over a mouthful of rice. “It really wasn’t my fault.”
“Hmm.”
We eat in silence for a while; the air no longer filled with tension.
“Piper said this group was your idea,” he says.
I nod. “It was. I know I’m not the only one with these worries when it comes to pets. My mind races off to places that even I don’t understand half the time. I can’t be the only one that goes through that.”
“You’re not. And…congratulations on your pack,” he says softly.
He runs a hand through his blonde hair, and it flops messily on his forehead.
“I should have told you that originally when you found your scent matches, not made you second guess every decision you made when it came to them. That was terrible of me.”
I chew thoughtfully, and he lets out a slow, nervous breath. He fidgets with the takeout bag, crinkling it with his fingers.
“I’ve wanted these things for you, Maeve. Ever since you presented, and we knew you were an Omega, I wanted you to have the very best people in your life.”
“And I wanted that for you, too,” I add. “You found Piper, and I encouraged you to win her over even when she was upset with you. Remember?”
It took Avery forever to tell me about Piper, and by the time he did, he was convinced he lost her forever.
That wasn’t the case, of course.
They’re meant to be together.
He chuckles softly. “Yeah. And I should have encouraged you, not made you feel insecure in your choices. I’m so, so sorry.”
“I heard Fang talked to you.”
“He did. He took the blame for everything, told me I was an overprotective asshole, and to stop treating you like a kid.”
I raise an eyebrow, surprised. “And how did that go?”
“I called him a selfish prick. Then, I threatened to get him fired.”
I gasp. “What the hell, Avery?” I drop my chopsticks in the bowl. “Why the hell would you do that?”
But before my anger can rise, he holds up his hands in surrender.
“And,” he continues, “he said to go ahead. If he had to lose his job to be with you, and lose me as a friend, then he would deal with it. And that’s when I realized he was in love with you.
It wasn’t just a scent match for him…he loves who you are as a person. ”
I scowl. “He didn’t tell me about that part of the conversation.”
“Probably because he didn’t want you to see me any differently,” he sighs, kicking a pebble at his feet. “You’re my little sister, and I wanted to keep you safe. Even if it hurt you in the process.”
I absorb his words, allowing them to sink in fully. “You were parentified,” I murmur. “You had to play the role of parent for me, our whole lives. Of course you would act like that.”
He shrugs. “I don’t see it as a burden, Maeve.”