How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Six: Anti-Catnip

~Chapter Six: Anti-Catnip~

I know I failed when I wake up on the couch the next morning, half-naked and still dusty from last night's walk into town. I remember putting the groceries away, but then I must have been in the middle of stripping for the shower when the day caught up with me. Apparently, I had been awake enough to retrieve a blanket and make it to the cough, but it looks like I gave up on the fight to stay awake there. 

It is definitely not one of my best moments, but at least I didn't decide to crash in my bed while still wearing the clothes I walked in. I still remember the time I woke up after a nap after a particularly trying day not even a month ago to find my bed covered in dirt because I forgot to take off my shoes. At least now I do not have to wash my sheets again.

My hands tighten around the edge of my blanket, and I pull it up to properly cover my torso, as it had fallen away during the night, and I do not want to get up yet. Judging from the pale light outside, it is just after dawn, and there is still frost on the window's edges, urging me to go back to sleep. However, I know something woke me up, as I rarely get up this early, especially after a long night. When nothing obvious jumps out at me as the culprit, I slip my hand into my back pocket and pull out my phone, slightly miffed that I forgot to put it on the table before passing out. 

One missed call from an unknown number.

If I was more awake, I would have jumped when it suddenly starts to vibrate in my hand, the same unfamiliar number showing up on caller ID. Though I would much rather shut the phone off and go back to sleep, I reluctantly answer it. It had better be damn important to wake me up this early...

"Cade!" 

My brow furrows in confusion as I recognize the owner of the voice. Suddenly unsure that I read the number right, I pull it away from my ear and check the caller ID, but no matter how long I stare at it, the number does not become any more recognizable. A new number, then? As I consider that, I realize that Dylan is still shouting at me so I tune his words back in. "-left your cabin? I had to find this out from one of my wolves!"

"Relax, Ryland gave me a ride home," I reply, cutting him off before he can get too into his rant. I will probably regret saying that later, as that was not the wisest thing to say to an already angry wolf, but I am too tired to care at the moment.

"You what?" He exclaims, his tone suggesting that he is less than thrilled with my ride home.

My eyelids start to droop, and I just know that I am about to fall back asleep. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Of course not," he snaps, and I can sense another rant coming, so I hang up. Just as I am about to set it down, the phone begins to vibrate, so I do what makes the most sense: I turn off the phone. And, before I know it, I drift back off into dreamland.

- - - - - - -

When I next wake up, it likely has only been a couple of hours. The world outside my cabin windows seems almost painfully bright, but that could always just be because my eyes are not adjusting to the light quite yet. For a couple of minutes, I just stare up at the ceiling, listening to all the sounds in and around my cabin. However, nothing clues me in as to why I woke up.

After a moment, I grab my phone to see if someone is calling me again, but then I remember that I turned it off. Instead of turning it back on like a responsible person would, I set it on the coffee table before stretching out my arms and legs, groaning loudly. Once my body feels comfortably stretched, I slowly roll onto my back and rub my face. 

I could go back to sleep, but if I don't eat soon, I'll probably end up with a headache.

As I sit up, though, I hear something. It does not make sense to me at first, though it is also probably what woke me up if it happened before. The more I listen to it, though, the more it starts to sound like a branch creaking in the wind...very odd wind that apparently only affects one tree. After all, one glance out the window reveals that there is no wind, but the sound continues.