That scent is wrong.
It’s Maeve, but it’s so warped, twisted, and disjointed…
It’s the scent of her sorrow.
Blair enters behind us, pulling open the door. “Alvin is okay, before anyone asks,” she says quickly. “It’s Maeve who’s not. Isent her home.” She turns to me apologetically. “She said she wants to be left alone, and we need to honor her wishes.”
“What? No,” I murmur, checking my phone.
Sure enough, there is a text from Maeve, one sentence that makes my heart ache.
I need some space.
23
MAEVE
I’m barelyable to type out the message to Ivan, but my shaky fingers manage to do it.
For the entire drive back to my apartment, shame and fear resonate in my head, coloring every thought that ricochets around my mind.
My bad feeling was right.
Alvin swallowed a string.
By the time we got him over to Logan, who looked terrified for me, not Alvin, I was shivering.
Blair lightly touched my arm, but it didn’t help, just made me jerk away.
I wasright.
The building smelled like smoke, and for one insane moment, I thought the place was on fire.
But no, the charred, burnt aroma belonged to me.
Logan mouthed words that I couldn’t process.
They filtered in and out of my ears as I stared at Alvin, who had just vomited up one of the broken strings from the cat wands we received from a company.
It was because of me that those poor-quality toys arrived. The company that manufactures them had wanted a partnership, hoping a video we would make about them on our social media accounts would go viral.
X Rays…obstruction…surgery…
And it was all my fault.
Every thought of Alvin makes my stomach ache and my chest constrict. I forget to breathe until my head gets dizzy, then I suck in dramatic, ragged breaths.
It’s a miracle I make it to my apartment, my burnt Omega smell stinking up the entire car.
I switch off my phone as soon as I make it home, ignoring the missed calls from every single person in my life.
The last call I see is from Avery, which tells me that Piper tried to get into contact with him.
I probably scared the shit out of everyone, but I can’t let them see me like this, especially my pack.
How can I explain the terror that races through my body while everyone around me can handle the situation like competent adults?
The look Logan gave me, startled and concerned, tells me exactly what I need to know.
