The Cat Shifter (Book 1 of Shifter Series)

Chapter 2

It had been a week since I was taken from the pound as if I was a normal house cat, and I didn't know if I would have changed the meeting of this family any other way. I absolutely adored Katie, and how she would talk to me as if I was human.

She still had this deep sadness about her, and I didn't know what it was about. I knew that I helped make her happy, but it was only for a little while before I saw her looking off into the distance tears almost streaming down her face. Sadly, it broke my heart to see her like that, and I so badly wanted to shift and hold her close to me. I just didn't know what would happen if I did.

Anyways, I had never left Katie's room, and I was guessing that was because I was a "cat" living in a house full of dogs... well, Wolves. It wasn't safe for me to go out there, even though I was curious to explore the house and explore the outdoors.

Her father did come in every day to make sure that Katie had given me food (which makes me want to puke) and clean water.

Of course, Katie does, but I help her out a bit with the clean water. It was the deal that she had made with her father to actually "keep" me while giving me a pretty green collar and saying that it matched my eyes.

Another thing that her father did was come and read stories to us. I, of course, was curled by Katie's side, purring every so often when she stroked me. Her father was a good reader, and I hoped that I sounded as good as him, if I ever read out loud...

The bad thing was, her father was getting on to me, and I knew he didn't trust me around his daughter.

I didn't care, I was entranced with stories and learning how to do my ABC's again. I loved to read the books that Katie had underneath this wooden bench seat, connected to a window that I took a nap on.

Unfortunately, Katie's father would come by every so often and would smell me in the room. He almost caught me multiple times, but I was quick enough to change into my cat form, quickly putting the book back into its place before so.

That didn't stop me from reading, and I was doing that while Katie was in school, reading the book that her father was reading us in the evening. I loved reading it to myself as well as having it being read to me, and I was still awed by the words that are on the page.

A small growl broke me from my reading time, and I quickly placed the book in its place before jumping back onto the bench seat, shifting in record time. He opened the door just after I had laid down, pretending to have been asleep this whole time.

I lifted my head and blinked my eyes "sleepily" while yawning. I kept my body relaxed as he smelt the area, trying to see who had been in her room.

A growl vibrated through the whole room and he glared at me. "What secrets are you keeping?" he asked, stalking towards me. He picked me up by the scruff, causing me to mewl helplessly. "Who are you?"

I mewled again, flicking my tail around. Hurry up, I thought, hiding back an eye roll as he looked me up and down. I am just a normal house cat that shifts into a human to read.

After what felt like hours, but was only minutes, he finally placed me down on the bench seat, shaking his head. "I can't help but think..." He glanced me up and down before walking out of the room.

A sigh of relief escaped me while I flicked my ears towards the now closed door. My whole body relaxed because I knew that my secret was safe, even if it was for a little while. I took a deep whiff of the air, not catching his woodsy scent before hopping off the seat.

Just a bit more, I thought, shifting back into my human form. I reached for the book that he had been reading us, wanting to know what happened to Harry and if he had gotten the stone. I am almost done with the book and-

There was a loud bang, causing me to jump up and turn around to spy the dark eyes of Katie's father glaring at me. A deep growl rumbled through his chest while he stalked towards me. "Who the hell are you?" he growled out, his teeth elongating into those of his wolf form.

***

"Well?" he asked when I didn't answer the first time. "Who. The. Hell. Are. You?" Power radiated out of his voice, causing me to flinch. He took a step forward, causing me to back up until I was actually sitting on the bench.

I clutched the book to my chest hoping that it would save me from the Werewolf in front of me. My heart pounded and all my instincts told me to run away from him. "Uh... meow?" My arm twitched, and I knew that I needed to get out of the room now.

"Who are you and why are you here?" he roared, causing me to flinch. "Are you going to kill-"

I growled at that, my eyes flashing a lighter green. "I wouldn't, Sir," I said, my lip curling a bit at the thought of killing Katie. "I-I physically can not kill her." I knew that my voice was hoarse because I hadn't talked in this form for as long as I can remember.

"Who are you?" he asked, growling. His whole body relaxed a bit when I said that I wouldn't kill his daughter.

"Your daughter calls me Tigra," I said, watching as he stepped forward. "But my name is Katherine, Kat for short." I saw a small twitch of his lip, but he was still tense, and I knew that he would kill me in a flash. "I was going to escape from the animal control place," I blurted out quickly, causing him to raise an eyebrow. I looked down and blushed, my brown hair falling in my face. "I had to wait till the evening because I had to leave as a human but your daughter picked me to adopt before that."

He raised his eyebrow higher and opened his mouth. He closed it, hearing a squeal coming from his daughter. He looked at the door before looking at me to see that I had placed the book up and was back on the bench in cat form.

A look of shock appeared on his face before he masked it because I didn't think he knew that I could move that fast.

"Tiggy!" an excited squeal sounded through the whole house. A very excited redhead came into the room, holding a piece of paper. Her smile was contagious, and I couldn't help but feel my whiskers twitch for the fact that I wanted to smile as well. She stopped when she spotted her father still in the room. "Papa?" she asked, cocking her head. "What happened? Why are you here?"

Her father looked at me before looking at her, his features softening at the little bundle of joy. "Nothing, Dear," he said, looking more like a father than the scary man that had been in front of me. "I was just making sure that the water was filled." He rubbed her head, causing her to scoff playfully and swat at his hands. "Good work on keeping her fed and watered." With that, he walked out of the room, and I knew that this conversation wasn't over.

Katie sighed with relief and leaned closer to my ear. "I'm sorry that I forgot to fill up your water," she whispered, her hot breath making my ear twitch. "Don't tell Papa."

I couldn't help but smirk. If only she knew...