How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Interrogation

~Chapter Twenty-Two: The Interrogation~

I am not sure if I am disappointed that I was unable to return to my cabin last night or excited that I did not have to sleep on a couch. I did have to share a bed with Dylan, Erika, and Diego again, though. Something about it not being safe for a little cat like me to be surrounded by such big bad Alphas. The worst part is that it was not Dylan's overprotective friend mode that stuck me in a bed with those three, but Erika's concern for my safety. Maybe it is because she has never seen me fight. Dylan, at least, has. Up-close and personal.

When I asked why we all have to sleep in the same bed, even though the threat is merely a few wolves that would really have no reason to attack me in my sleep, Dylan told me that a warm bed is the best, especially when it comes with body shields in case his wife started sleep punching him. Such a great way to make a guy feel safe.

Thankfully, I managed to slip out of the bed in the middle of the night without waking anyone and spent the rest of the night on the floor, wrapped up in a throw blanket. It was not a very pleasant experience, but it beats being smothered all night. Markus woke up before me and ended up stepping on me in his sleepwalk to reach the shower. I think he was too out of it to realize that I was not furniture, as he made no comment about it when he was completely awake fifteen minutes later.

"What is with all those moon phases for pack names? Isn't that stuff straight out of a tween fantasy novel or were you guys just so terrible with names that you went with the first thing you saw while howling at the night sky?" I ask over breakfast the next morning.

Markus snorts some of his cereal milk out his nose, clearly not expecting me to be chatty so early. If he was, he would not have been caught off-guard by my question. Dylan's eyebrows shoot up, his face the perfect picture of amusement. "There is this longstanding joke in the packs. Werewolves are thought to be moon-chasing dog-men and every time someone in a pack marries a human, the first thing that human asks is somehow moon-related. So, during one meeting, the Alphas from two generations ago changed their pack names," he says with a shrug, returning to his toast.

"Then why are you still the Colorado Springs pack?" I inquire.

Dylan smiles. "My grandpa didn't get the joke."

I stick out my tongue at my friend while pushing my empty bowl of what used to be marshmallow cereal onto the island counter. Erika, who is doing the dishes, meets my gaze and rolls her eyes. "The sink is four feet away, Cade," she scolds. "You have two feet, use them."

I smirk. "Touché."

Markus snickers softly when I move around the island to give Erika my bowl, acting like a good house guest. I would offer to do the dishes, but Erika always turns me down on the basis that I am a guest and should not be doing the housework for her. In fact, she has even taken to complaining if I do ask anymore.

"Anyway, I should be heading out before my sister starts tearing apart my cabin to find my nonexistent secrets," I announce, running a hand through my disheveled bed hair that I was too lazy to brush. Thankfully, the clothes I left here last time had been washed and I was able to put them on this morning instead of wearing yesterday's clothes.

Dylan ditches his toast in favor of giving me one of his I-will-crush-you hugs. "Ribs. Ribs!" I shout, tapping his back repeatedly in hopes it will get him to release me. Stupid wolf.

Next, Erika gives me a much kinder hug, one filled with something akin to sisterly care, keeping it tender and nice. That, and I think she is worried about my now bruised ribs. When I look over at Markus, though, he remains seated. When he sees my pointed look, he raises his hands. "It's not like you're going away to summer camp," he says.