How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Thirteen: Pack House

~Chapter Thirteen: Pack House~

YOU HAVE 10 NEW MESSAGES.

Ever since I woke up in the pack house on Wednesday, my phone has been my only connection to the outside world and I cannot even use it. Ryland kept calling, so Dylan took it away. His reason: "I don't want anything to influence your decision." As if he was not already trying to do just that.

I finally found it last night and hid it away in my pocket right before Markus all but dragged me into the bed I have been sharing with three other wolves for the past two nights. After some growling and a long debate, I managed to lessen the security on my person to just a team of four, which is made up of Markus, the alpha pair, and a pack fighter named Diego. All the other pack members are on high alert, but were allowed to return to their individual homes scattered throughout Colorado Springs. And unless they catch the scent of a lion, they will stay there for the remainder of my visit.

My guess, though, is that Ryland will not wait much longer. He stopped calling on Wednesday night and started the texts on Thursday morning. It is Friday now, making it two whole days since I woke up in this bed, and a cat can only bide his time for so long before moving it. There is nothing in his texts that reveal what he has planned, but even I, the very lazy cat, would not be patient enough to wait another day.

With that in mind, I intend to spend my last few hours hidden away from Ryland relaxing. And it all starts with a morning bath. I might be a night shower kind of person, but sleeping in a bed full of wolves typically means spending the night covered in sweat.

I start to wiggle under the sheets, moving away from Markus's snoring form and closer to Dylan, the sound sleeper. Unless I make a lot of noise or follow Erika's example and perform wrestling moves on him, he will not wake up. Markus, however, is a very light sleeper, as I have learned over the past couple of days and I would rather spend my bath time without a guard standing outside the door. Especially since I intend to spend it in cat form, and Markus likes to hold conversations through the door, which would be impossible without a human voice.

Since I have been here, I have only been able to turn into a cat once, and that was only for an hour to stretch my muscles and bathe in the sun from the roof. Dylan has been very strict about me not stepping one foot outside the pack house, the only exception being the roof. I have tried to break that rule multiple times, but someone always manages to stop me before I can, even when I was one hundred percent certain that I was the only one on that side of the house.

I manage to free myself of the blankets, but Markus groans beside me, rolling over to face me. His hand grabs my ankle just as I am about to make my escape by walking over him. "Where do you think you are going?" Markus grumbles, still only partially awake.

"Go back to sleep. I'm just taking a bath," I reply, tempted to pull my leg free. He seems to consider his options before releasing my leg.

"Fine, but find me when you're done," he mutters before nodding off again, silently giving me permission to make my escape now. Either he has a lot of faith in me or he is lazier than I am.

True to my word, I go directly for the bathroom down the hall, not wanting to use the one in that room, which would probably wake everyone up. I close the door behind me and strip off my borrowed clothing, which are just a pair of gray sweats. I turn on the water and wait for it to properly fill up.

After turning it off, I begin the shift, dropping down on all fours. A minute later, I am sitting in the molten hot water. While it does sting, it feels great moving through my fur every time I change my position to clean myself. Plus, the large amount of steam rising from the bath and filling the room improves my mood.