Tiger's Mate

Chapter 26

•Ethan•

I was willing to bet on my life that I had been sleeping almost peacefully that morning. My sleep was dreamless which meant I should have felt well-rested upon waking up — whenever I decided that would be. I didn't know how blazing fucking wrong I would end up being.

My phone blared head-achingly loud from my bedside table, buzzing disturbingly even though it was always set on vibrate. The supposed to be quiet setting.

I wasn't sure what in God's name made me pick up — I usually ignored any calls I got anyway when they weren't after noon. I blamed my unfortunate miscalculation on sleep drowsiness, that was the only explanation for my sudden act of stupidity that I oh so regretted. I dragged the phone from the desk with a slight groan, my eyes barely open yet as I clicked and held the device up to my ear. Mistake number fucking one.

"HEY GOOD-MORNING WHAT UP IM COMING FROM HERE TO YOU LIVE FROM THE BACK OF EASTWOOD HIGH WHERE IT SEEMS — OH NO MY CO-HOST HAS STILL YET TO ARRIVE, BUT DON'T WORRY, HE'S DEFINITELY ON HIS WA — wait hold on what the fuck was that sound?" The cheery voice paused for several seconds.

If anyone were to ask, no; I had not jumped out of bed from the ear-shattering blare of a voice shouting through the phone. That loud thunk on my bedroom floor had not been me startling up and accidentally tipping over the edge of my mattress. It had not been me falling chest first on my carpet and it had not been me also comically sending the rest of my blanket tumbling down on top of me.

For blazing sake, I was not some clumsy dumbass. Pay no mind to the fact that once I relocated my device from where it had dropped, I answered from my rattled position on the floor. I was still groaning from the winded ache of my torso when I suddenly whipped the phone up to my ear and snapped bloody murder because for the sake of bloody hell I had gotten a look at the time.

"What the fucking hell Kitty it's 6 in the morning!?"

Katski's obnoxiously loud voice answered back, for some reason still shouting like he was making the announcements for some broadcast news show, and almost immediately I was forced to jerk the phone away from my sensitive eardrums — as in; a full arm lengths away. And by fucking god I could still hear him.

"YEAH WHAT IN THE FURY HELL IS TAKING YOU SO DAMN LONG?"

I checked — the phone was not on speaker. Fucking hell.

"Stop shouting!" I shouted at him.

It was times like this I was glad once again for those soundproof walls, or else I was sure I'd have half the pack banging on my door with more than unappreciative faces. The expression 'don't wake a sleeping bear' had nothing on this more factual piece of knowledge; waking a houseful of sleeping werewolves — especially when half were either elders or teens — equalled certain death. My dear mate was trying to kill me without even realizing.

I made the mistake of yawning a little too close to the speaker.

"Fuck — DON'T TELL ME YOUR ASS IS STILL IN BED!" Katski exclaimed.

"Of course my ass is still in bed!" I snapped before I sighed and massaged my tired eyes, trying not to yawn. "Kitty...it's too early for this. What the hell is your problem?"