The Pack’s Pajamas

Chapter 5 #2

Blair nods. “I wouldn’t call them rules, but we want to make sure that every cat here goes home to the right person and situation. Pets aren’t accessories, or something you abandon when things grow difficult. Unfortunately, some people don’t understand that.”

I stand to face her and am assaulted by her scent again.

Even though it’s muted, that violent aroma still torments me.

But the more I look into her guarded eyes, the more I wonder if she doesn’t feel this at all.

If the scent match recognition is one-sided, I’ll be devastated.

I don’t know how I would explain that to Rowan. I can keep it together, but he might lose his mind.

We’ve been waiting for so long…

“I get that,” I say. “I would never abandon an animal. I’m not a monster.”

Her smile grows. “Good. If there are any problems, we have a low-cost vet clinic in the same building.”

I let her lead me through the playroom, surprised at its size, and through an open door that leads to a row of large kennels and crates.

“We have a couple of cats in here right now,” she says. “Some of them like to sleep in here, while others prefer to rest in the playroom.”

“Damn,” I say. “They’re living the life, huh?”

She chuckles. “Yeah. They are.”

I don’t know a lot about rescues, but I never imagined them to represent a luxury resort for cats.

But hell, if I was a cat here?

I’d never want to leave.

Especially if I got to see Blair every day.

“Who’s this?” I ask, my eyes falling to a large black cat that’s yawning. We make eye contact through the crate, which has its door open and slightly ajar. I’m eye level with the cat as the crate sits on top of another empty one.

“That’s Ash,” Blair replies. “He’s a sweet boy that someone found next to the highway.”

I cautiously extend my hand, and the cat’s black nose rubs against my fingers through the metal door of the crate. A large rumble sounds from him, and his yellow eyes close in bliss.

“Oh, that’s a good sign,” Blair breathes, her face lighting up. She’s beautiful like this, her passion and care for animals on display, and I bite my tongue to keep from telling her that.

“Yeah?” I ask dumbly, losing my words as I study her face.

“He adores you,” she murmurs. “You want to hold him?”

I want to hold you, I think.

But Ash’s purr increases, and I nod.

I do want to hold the cat. There’s a feeling in my gut that the cat that will do well in our packhouse and be a good companion to Rowan and Travis.

Blair reaches over to open the crate door, and Ash immediately headbutts my hand. I slowly gather him into my arms while he continues to purr.

He’s heavier than I expected, though.

“He looks like he swallowed a bowling ball,” I deadpan, and Blair bursts into beautiful laughter that makes my breath catch while Ash rubs his face all over my sweatshirt.

“They eat well here.” When we make eye contact again, I catch a flicker of longing across her face. She takes in a deep breath then clears her throat and steps back from me.

“I’ll give you some time with him,” she says quickly. She hurries out of the room and through the playroom, leaving me frowning.

Maybe she does sense this.

But Ash doesn’t. The cat is oblivious to my struggle as he nuzzles into my chest, his purr ridiculously loud.

“Hey buddy,” I say, scratching his head. “You know her better than I do. Any chance she’d like me?”

No answer, just more purrs and nuzzles.

Carrying the cat in my arms, I bring him into the playroom and deposit him on the top of a cat tree. He flops over onto his side, and I rub his stomach.

“You really do look you swallowed a bowling ball,” I mutter. “Holy shit.”

I’ve never seen a cat this happy before.

I pick up a wand toy that’s on the floor and dangle it in front of him.

His pupils grow so wide that it swallows the yellow of his eyes, and then he attacks.

Despite his size, Ash is nimble and has no problem leaping off the tower to catch the toy mouse that’s at the end of the plastic wand.

The cat has more energy than I expected him to, and soon, other cats are joining in to try and catch the toy.

“You got to tell me how to win her over,” I say to the cats. “What does she like? What’s her favorite food?”

A chorus of meows and mews is my only answer.

“Damn,” I murmur. “Too bad I don’t speak cat.”

But I continue talking to them.

“You know she’s my scent match, right?” I whisper. “And I didn’t think that would happen. Ever. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for her? And then I find her at a cat rescue, taking care of you guys? What are the odds, huh?”

Batting paws are their only response.

Ash rubs my legs, his puffy cheeks marking my jeans.

“You have to be my wingman to make this work,” I tell him. “Since I’m giving you a house and all, you owe me.”

He yawns, unimpressed.

I scoop him back into my arms, discarding the wand toy. But that doesn’t stop a kitten from latching onto my leg with needle-like claws.

“Okay, stop,” I say, awkwardly shaking my leg, but the menace continues to cling to me. “Hey, don’t do that—ow!”

“Need some help?” a voice asks, and I turn to see Maeve, watching me with her arms crossed. Her brow is furrowed, as if she’s disturbed by the scene.

“Sure,” I mutter. “Can you hold Ash while I unstick this guy from me?”

While she holds Ash, I gently remove the kitten from my leg and watch it scamper away.

But that strange expression doesn’t leave Maeve, and suddenly, I realize I never heard her come in.

Oh, shit.

“How much did you hear?” I ask.

“Enough.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” she sighs, looking down at her combat boots. “Look…don’t fuck her over, okay?”

I frown. “I wouldn’t. Ever.”

Maeve can’t know that yet, but I already like her just for how protective she is of Blair.

She chews her lip. “She’s a really good person. Be patient with her.”

“I’m grateful for anything you can tell me about her,” I say quietly. “What do I do to win her over?”

When Maeve looks at me again, there’s a wistfulness in her eyes.

“I’m not sure,” she says. “You’ll have to figure that out yourself.

She’s kind to everyone but doesn’t trust easily.

And she’s brilliant. I don’t know what you do, but she’s easily the smartest person in the room at all times. What do you do?”

“I’m a video game developer,” I answer, and that catches her off guard.

“Oh! Okay, well that’s cool. I was worried you were a finance guy or something. Yeah, that’s really freaking cool—but she’s still smarter than you. And better.”

I laugh. “I know. I’m well aware. I figured that out already.”

“What I’m saying is, be good to her. Even if she just wants to be your friend, be grateful she’s in your life.” Ash squirms in her arms, trying to reach out for me.

“I will. I swear I will,” I promise her.

“If you don’t, I’ll fill your engine with cat pee and blow up your car,” she says cheerfully.

“…oh. Okay.”

“Great! So, are you a cat dad now?”

“…I guess I am,” I say slowly, studying the unhinged Omega in front of me.

Even if she’s a little odd, Maeve is fiercely protective of her friend, and I can’t do anything but respect her for it.

“Great. I’ll prepare the paperwork, and then we can go over some cat care essentials, and I’ll send you home with an adoption kit.”

I look past the glass door and to the reception area. “Is Blair still here?”

“She went home early today,” Maeve says sympathetically. “Sorry, Ryland.”

I try not to let the disappointment show on my face.

I may not be able to say goodbye to my scent match, but at least I’m able to give a charming cat a new home.

Ash is quiet on the drive back to the packhouse, which surprises me. Maeve and Piper warned me that most cats are temperamental in a moving vehicle, but he’s all purrs in his carrier by the time I arrive at the packhouse.

Rowan is working from home today, and Travis’s car is in the driveway.

I’m not sure exactly what to tell either of them yet, but my brother is in our shared office, staring intently at the middle monitor on his desk when I enter.

“Hey—oh, shit, what’s that?” He leaps from his chair when I place the carrier on the ground and unlatch the door. “Is that a cat?” He crouches on the floor with me, his excitement palpable.

Ash makes his grand appearance, trotting out of the carrier and into the middle of the room, looking around inquisitively.

“Holy shit,” Rowan mutters. “You really got a cat.”

“I was tired of us just talking about it,” I say as Ash finds his way back to me and nuzzles my hand. Rowan stretches out his own, and I’m pleased when Ash makes his way over to him and rubs against his hand, too.

“Travis is going to be pissed.”

“Nah. He’s a big softie. He’ll live.”

“What’s his name?” Rowan murmurs as the cat soaks up his attention.

“Ash.”

“Hmm.” A rare, small smile forms on my brother’s face, and I know I made the right decision bringing Ash into our packhouse.

We may look almost identical on the outside, but on the inside, Rowan is the one that feels things more intensely.

He’s always been the more expressive one, the one that lets his emotions override logic.

A lot of times those emotions are negative, and it’s difficult to pull him out of his own head.

But by the way he’s looking at Ash, I have a feeling the cat will be able to help him with that task.

“This cat is fucking awesome,” he murmurs, and I laugh. I join him on the floor, sitting cross legged while Ash happily weaves between the both of us, receiving an abundance of pets.

“I’ve got food and a small litterbox in the car, but we’ll need to make a pet store run later,” I say.

“Sounds good. Also, why the fuck do you smell like that?” Rowan asks suddenly, his eyes narrowing as he sniffs the air. He freezes mid-pet, staring at me. “Who were you around?”

It takes a moment for recognition to dawn on Rowan’s face, but when it does, it’s priceless. His light blue eyes grow wide, and he sucks in a sharp breath.

“Holy shit,” he breathes. “You found them? Is it what I think it is?”

I was going to draw this out and take my time processing what just happened with Blair, but I should have known my twin would pick up on it.

“I found her,” I breathe. “I found our scent match, Rowan. It’s Blair.”

“Blair?” he sputters. “The Blair? Bartender cat lady Blair? Travis’s Blair?” He stands up and begins to pace, and I watch him with amusement. “Holy shit! Blair Blair?”

Ash trots back to me and nuzzles into my chest. “Not just Travis’s Blair. Our Blair.”

“Holy fuck. Holy fuck,” Rowan paces around the room, anxious energy cascading off him in waves. “I…I have to see her. I have to, now. How did she react? Does she know? What are you doing just sitting here when she’s out there?”

“When who’s out where?” Travis asks from the hall. He comes to a stop in the doorway, and his mouth twists in shock when Ash waddles over to him. “Who is that?”

“That’s Ash,” I say, standing. “When were you going to tell us she was a scent match?”

Travis turns his attention from the cat to stare at me like I spoke a different language. “Who?”

“Blair, dumbass! Blair!” Rowan shouts. “She was our scent match this whole time?”

Travis opens and closes his mouth, seemingly at a loss for words. “You saw her?” he asks finally.

Ash sits in front of him, looks up, and meows.

“Yeah. How do you think I got him?” I motion to Ash, who happily flops onto Travis’s feet. “Did you really not know she’s a match?”

“I…suspected,” Travis grumbles, staring at the cat. “But I wasn’t sure. There are always so many people at Scents that it’s impossible to distinguish everyone.” He looks at me, his dark eyes suspicious. “Does she know we’re roommates?”

“No. She left in a hurry after we met.”

“Did you piss her off?” Rowan asks. “Why would she run away?”

“Did she acknowledge the match?” Travis continues.

“No.” I shake my head, ignoring Rowan. “At first I thought she did, but...”

“…but?” Rowan demands. “But what?”

“But you know her better than I do,” I say to Travis, ignoring Rowan’s freak out. “And I think we have our work cut out for us.”

Travis’s lip twitches in what is almost a smile. “She’s not looking for anyone. She’s made that clear.”

“She hasn’t met all of us, yet,” Rowan says. “Maybe she’ll change her mind once we meet her as a pack.”

Travis shakes his head. “Only if that’s what she wants.”

“Fuck,” my brother mutters. “I can’t believe she’s a scent match. And you didn’t even say anything, Trav. What the hell.”

“I didn’t need you flying off the handle if I was wrong,” Travis snaps, annoyed at the use of the nickname he hates. “I’m careful with her for a reason.”

Rowan scoffs. I can sense the tension in the room as he turns to me.

“You better not have fucked this up,” he hisses. “Why did she run from you?”

“I’m not a mind reader!” I insist. “And she went home for the day. She didn’t run.”

Ash stops his flopping on Travis and prances over to Rowan, who bends to scoop him up. The cat cuddles into his chest just like he did to me at the rescue.

“I work with her tonight,” Travis says. “I’ll see if she mentions anything.”

“When do I get to meet her?” Rowan says.

“When I say it’s time.”

I whip my head around at Travis’s statement. “What—”

“You shouldn’t have gone to the rescue without telling me, either,” he says to me.

“What?” I demand.

“You don’t know her like I do,” he growls. “It took a long time to get her to open up. If you messed this up, somehow—”

“How the hell does a scent match mess things up?”

“Mrow.”

We stop our arguing to look at Ash, who lets out a series of meows until Rowan places him down. Then, he walks around in a circle, letting out sounds I’ve never heard a cat make before.

“Is he okay?” Rowan asks, his eyes widening. “What does he need?”

“Did you at least get a litter box?” Travis sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah. It’s in my car, along with food.”

“Set it up and bring in the food. We need to make him comfortable with the area. He probably needs to use the bathroom.”

“Well, at least your relationship with Blair is good for something,” Rowan growls. “If she doesn’t want to be our Omega, at least we have her for cat advice.”

I snort, even though the situation isn’t amusing.

The more I think about it, the more dread pools in my stomach.

Yes, I found our scent match, which is something to be celebrated.

But her reaction wasn’t normal, and neither were her clipped, guarded responses toward me.

Instead of being happy, Blair looked terrified.

The high from inhaling her delicious scent wears off, and something like sorrow weighs in my chest.

It’s possible she could reject the match.

And if she does…

I don’t know how we’ll survive it.