How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Bad Choices

There is a sigh on the other end, "How long?"

"Uh, depends on what this guy tells me," I mumble before snorting when I see the reindeer Christmas decorations that decorate the lawn of 1082-1084, the townhouse I am looking for. Maybe they aren't such terrible hunters. They managed to find the one house in the entire neighborhood with deer decorations.

"Well, hurry up," Dylan says before the line goes dead. I pull up to the curb in front of the house and turn off my Jeep. As I get out, I slip my phone into my pocket before taking a deep breath and walking towards the front door. I had originally planned to go with Ryland when he returned, but I called Evan after dropping Heather off at the airport and he said he would be leaving Tuesday morning to return to California.

Before I can even knock on the door, it swings inward to reveal Evan. There is a weak smile on his face, which suggests he is more nervous than I am, even though he has no need to be. In the hallway behind him, one of his hunting buddies passes from one room to another, only to backtrack when he sees me in the doorway. It is the guy with the angry wife, the one whose name I either never got, or fail to remember.

"Oh, you're the guy from the cabin," he says, clearly surprised by my presence here and Evan turns to look at him. Someone shouts 'dad' from upstairs and the man sighs, turning back the way he came. "Coming, honey!"

Evan raises an eyebrow at his friend, but he is already out of sight. The human seems to realize that I am still standing on the porch and quickly steps out of the way, gesturing for me to enter. He leads me into what I believe is the living room, which is barely bigger than mine with less furniture. I take a seat in the only chair while he sits on one of the two couches, leaning forward with his hands clasped at his knees.

"You were the black panther, right?" He asks suddenly, and I look at him with masked concern.

"What makes you think that?" I inquire, unwilling to give anything away until I know just how much he understands about us. He is clearly not of any species I know about other than human and from the way he seems to be guessing, he is not a god – as some 'higher' beings like to call themselves – either. If he was one of them, he would know instinctively.

Evan immediately sits up, "Oh, sorry. I dated this girl who was a...a vampire."

"She told you that?" I interrupt, trying to keep the disbelief out of voice.

He must misunderstand the reason for my disbelief because he rushes to continue, "I didn't really believe her, even after the fangs – you know how real prosthetics can look – which is why we broke up. After a few months, though, I started noticing that some people were...different. I thought I was going crazy, but my ex found me and explained some things, like people turning into cats...you must think I'm crazy."

"Huh..." I trail off, ignoring the last part of his statement. There is no strict Were code, but vampires have laws more binding than steel. Unless she was planning to turn him, which she should have done by now, telling a human has many dangers and most master vampires would be pretty angry about it. "Are you still in contact with her?"

His eyes light up when I do not immediately tell him he has lost it. "I was, but she disappeared about a month ago. She said she was going into hiding," Evan says, watching me closely as he talks. "I don't even know what from..."

Cameron never gave a specific time, but going into hiding is a lot more concerning than... "Shit!"

Evan flinches, probably thinking my angry outburst was intended for him. In actuality, it is for me. I was supposed to tell Dylan, who would tell the packs about the reclusive vampires. He is definitely not going to be happy about this. In fact, he might even accuse me of withholding information, more to spite me than out of conviction. "Was this supposed to be a secret?" He asks nervously.