Page 70 of Ruffled Feathers

As Rio and Max left, Paloma in the back seat of Sonny’s borrowed SUV with some of Tillie’s clothes and Doodles on her lap, we were back to square one with all the animals. It was going to be a long day before I could fall into the nest with my Omega.

“How many?”

Tillie winced. “Sixty-three.”

Truett sighed. “Let’s get to it.”

Thirty-Seven

Otillie-James

Exhaustion pulled at my eyelids, dragging them down. It felt like almost too much effort to lift them again. It had been hard work, but we’d managed to build temporary housing for all sixty-odd animals.

Truett had gone into the city to get an insane amount of dog beds, cat igloos, rodent hides, and anything else I could think of. Sonny had gone to get fencing and food from the tractor supply store. We were a well-oiled machine, and it would have been amazing, if it hadn’t been so fucking sad.

Rex and Anakie were here now, casting me worried looks, and I didn’t know how much to tell them. I didn’t think they’d out us to the cops, but I also didn’t want to have to put them in the position where they’d have to lie to the authorities.

Some of the animals had been too far gone, even for me. There were animals who were angry and in pain from broken bones that hadn’t healed properly, and who were so brutalized that they snapped at any human contact.

It had been so hard to watch those ones be humanely put to sleep, their short lives knowing nothing but anger and pain, but prolonging their fear would have been selfish of me. Anakie saidas much as she rubbed my back, and I knew she was right. Didn’t make it hurt any less.

Of the twenty-seven dogs we’d rescued, four had to be put down. Seven would need intensive work to make them adoptable. The rest were just scared and sad, and abundant food and water cheered them up in a way that made me cry, yet again.

The cats were much the same, though I found that if I housed some of them together, they found comfort in each other. Only two had injuries too severe for rehabilitation. Lance had dug a burial hole in the woods behind the house for those poor souls. I’d cried as we buried them all and hoped their next life was filled with peace.

That just left the roosters, who were happy roaming around the farm itself. With plenty of space and food, there hadn’t even been that many fights.

The monkey was a fucking trip, though. A little capuchin, I had no freaking idea what to do with a monkey, so Rex and Anakie were going to take that one home with them to be sent to a primate rescue over in Virginia.

Everything was settled, but the work still to be done was astronomical. First, I had to get through today. Anakie and I finished splitting the rabbits and guinea pigs into boy enclosures and girl enclosures, so we didn’t end up with significantly more rodents.

“Are you okay, Otillie?”

I shook my head. No, I definitely wasn’t okay. “Nope.”

“Where did these all come from? I swear on my Pack, I won’t tell a soul.”

I looked at my longtime friend. I believed her. “Watch the news tonight. But don’t askhowI ended up with the animals. Just know that I did.”

Shaking her head, she scratched a rabbit behind its floppy ears before putting it in the appropriate pen. “Okay, Omegaof Mystery. Just know we’re here if you need anything. You’ve never rescued on this scale before, and it’s hard work. Give it a few days, but you might need to try and get a few of these fostered out. There’s no shame in needing help; I know you know that.” Her voice was stern, but I nodded. I knew my limitations, and we were nearly at capacity.

Finally, after we’d done health checks on all the animals, Rex and Anakie left, with a monkey in tow.A freaking monkey.That shit was wild.

Akio nudged at my legs, and I reached down to pat his head. “This is a lot, hey buddy? I’m going to need your help over the next few weeks.” I stretched and yawned, and then Lance was there, wrapping his arms around my ribs, breathing me in like I was the only thing keeping him going.

“Are you mad at me, Angel?” he whispered against my hair.

I was shaking my head before he’d even finished. “No. Rescuing sixty animals without the infrastructure to house them is like the front page of the Otillie-James Baler playbook. I’m almost proud,” I teased. Turning in his arms, I tilted my head back to kiss him, a tingling kiss that I felt to my toes. “You did the right thing. I’m a little pissed you didn’t tell me you were planning to do it—and kind of worried that something might go wrong, and you’ll be in trouble—but I can’t be mad that you saved all these lives.”

He didn’t make excuses, or give me false platitudes, and that’s what I loved about Lance. My Lancelot. My White Knight. He didn’t treat me with kid gloves just because I was a woman, or an Omega, or younger than him.

Gripping his hand, I dragged him back toward the house. “I’m about to fall asleep. You need a shower and then we all need to climb into my nest and sleep. I need you all with me tonight.”

“All day,” he corrected. He was right. It was like midday. I’d been awake way too long.

Stumbling into the house, I could smell that someone was cooking, and my mouth watered. Strat was there in sweats and no shirt, freshly showered, sliding grilled cheese from the frying pan and onto a plate. Lance kissed my temple, then wandered into the downstairs bathroom to shower.

I walked over, kissing Strat’s shoulder. It was the place where I was going to claim him as mine one day. He leaned his head back against mine. “Baby, you must be exhausted. Have some grilled cheese and soup, then I’ll take you to bed.”

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