When I step away from Blair, she immediately beelines for Fang, who is lifting the cover on the carrier to check on Agnes and her kittens. It sits on the loveseat in the front room, and the cats have stayed quiet since we brought them indoors.
“So, you’re the guitar teacher,” she says cautiously. “And Maeve was your student.”
“Not anymore. And now, she’s my scent match,” Fang replies easily.
Blair crosses her arms and narrows her eyes. “You better take care of her,” she murmurs.
“I’m right here, Blair,” I say. “Come on.”
“Yeah,” Travis adds. “That goes for you, too.” He looks at Logan pointedly, who nods solemnly.
“With my life,” Logan says, sounding like a chivalrous prince in a fairy tale. “You have my word.”
“If anyone has to worry about breaking hearts, it would be Maeve,” Fang adds easily. “None of us are going anywhere.”
“You better not,” Blair adds.
I groan. “Okay,Mom.Everything’s great, okay? I promise.”
Ivan wraps an arm around me. “Nah, they wouldn’t be good friends unless they cared, sweetheart.”
Blair smirks at me. “Ivan gets it.”
“Also,” Fang adds. “How do I get you to relinquish custody of Agnes and her kittens to me?”
“We’re fostering them?” Travis asks, shooting Blair a confused look.
“Yup,” Blair says with a smile. Travis obviously didn’t know, but I doubt it’s the first time she’s surprised her pack with a litter of kittens. “Mervin and Marlin won’t mind, and Ash loves kittens.However,” she turns to Fang, who still looks hopeful, “let’s see a week of volunteering at the rescue, and maybe I’ll consider it.”
I balk, ready to argue, but Fang just grins. “Absolutely,” he says.
“Wait,” I snap. “Blair, he doesn’t have to do all that?—”
“Yes, he does,” both Travis and her say at the same time.
“Babe, it makes sense,” Fang says, his blue eyes gentle. “I’d rather prove myself worthy of the cats.”
I blink, letting his words sink in.
“If I remember correctly, you gave Ryland the third degree for wanting to adopt Ash,” Blair reminds me. “Didn’t you ask him why he’d prefer a cat over an iguana? Something like that?”
I gulp. “I didn’t think you’d remember that.”
“It’s one of her favorite stories to tell,” another voice pipes up, and Ryland enters the front room. “Hey, Maeve. I just heard something about a pack?”
Ryland is the sweetest of Blair’s Alphas. He’s a video game designer, just like his brother Rowan, and has always been polite and welcoming, even when I threatened him if he ever broke Blair’s heart.
After introductions, Ryland looks to me pointedly. “So, is this where I threaten to put cat pee in their engines if they hurt you?” he asks, his warm eyes full of mischief.
“Oh. You remember that, huh?” I squeak.
Fang looks absolutely delighted at Ryland’s question. “You get more wonderful each second I know you, babe,” he tells me fondly.
I roll my eyes while a blush stains my face. “You’re just weird,” I murmur.
But despite my grumblings, there’s a joyful buzzing in my brain.
I found my scent matches.
