Page 399 of Pucking Feral: Part Two

"They look happy," Plague murmurs with a rare, soft smile. He drifts to the cat toys and begins evaluating them.

"They do," I agree, leaning on the cart and watching him.

This is new, for me.

Watching another alpha, and doing it for fun.

I have spent my whole life watching other alphas for weaknesses. With Plague, I catch myself watching the way his hair slips loose over one ear when he leans forward, the flare of irritation and embarrassment and how his ears redden when a toy squeaks unexpectedly in his hand and he nearly drops it in his haste to put it back on the shelf.

Useless information.

I keep every last bit of it anyway.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asks without looking up.

I shrug, even though he can't see it. "You're worth staring at."

His ears go redder than they did when he announced his presence with a squeaky toy. It's cute, how often this alpha blushes. I let myself continue observing him, watching him practically crawl under my gaze.

My phone buzzes again. So does Plague's.

A reprieve for him. How lucky.

He takes it, looking down at his screen. I check mine as well. Ivy's texting the group chat.

IVY

oh! how's my villain baby doing at the vet??

btw, if I don't reply, it's because I'm about to lose signal in the mountains

VALEK

Still in her exam. The paw is likely a minor abscess, not a break.

THANE

That's great news. When is she coming home?

VALEK

We're picking her up tomorrow. They're keeping her for observation, just in case.

IVY

Ok thank gods!

take care of plague

he gets weird in pet stores

VALEK

When on earth did you have the opportunity to go to a pet store?

IVY

Whiskey likes to look at the fish