Artifice - Man x Man - Book Six

Chapter 42

My dreams are strangely vivid as I'm chased by my sister and a wolf, it'd been so long since I'd dreamt of wolves trying to harm me and I find it quite unsettling. While the creature is persistent, he never gets close enough to actually touch me, and somehow that makes it all the more frightening. 

Usually, it's a recognizable beast yet this one almost has no features, not even a color that I can recall, my dream fades from memory as quickly as my eyes can open only to reoccur the moment I close them again. They take turns, a horrific game of cat and mouse that leaves me tossing and turning with little rest. 

As the beast lunges, I sit up and clutch my heaving chest. 

I feel as though I've hardly slept, "Damn it..." I murmur, running a hand through my hair as I try and dispel the tremble that comes with an evening of nightmares. The window is overcast and dim despite the hour. Turning my attention to the other side of the bed, I see my companion is gone and I recall how our evening went. 

My fingers trail to my lips, tracing over them fondly as I relax into the knowledge that at least something went right.

When was the last time I went to bed almost sober? Scanning the bed, I find the answers aren't there. I'd taken to drinking myself to sleep for this exact reason. I can't help the disappointment that sharing my bed hadn't made that go away, but I'll take having a piece of me returned in exchange. 

My hand finds something warm, and I roll my fingers, palpating the furry mass. Jerking my hand away in surprise, I'm met with a gentle 'mew' from a pale cat curled up so innocently beside me. Wrinkling my nose, I wave my hand at it to dislodge it from my presence, but it doesn't move.

 Only the cat rolls onto its back to bat at my hand and assumes that I meant to scratch it. An insult to my intelligence, no doubt; unfortunately for the vermin, I'm much more of a dog person. "So he got a cat..." I grumble. "I didn't see you yesterday." 

The brown paw clutches my finger hopefully, a squeaky chirp is my response. It could almost be cute if it weren't so unassuming.

Retracting my hand, I stand up and realize I'm naked, glancing over my shoulder at the large blue eyes of the feline I quickly reach for my shirt only to find it's no longer on the floor. I feel the judgment of the world in those eyes, watching me so intently like a tiny little stalker. 

I still have no clothes here so I'd have to borrow some of his, "I swear to the gods if you are a person you best show yourself now or I'll freeze you solid. Cat." A gentle purr resounds in the furry chest and I warn myself to get a grip, I'm yelling at a damned cat. Yet, I run as if the devil himself is chasing me to the closet. 

Where I expect endless searching, I find multiple outfit choices set out as if they're for someone, and on closer inspection, they're more casual as they were carefully chosen to be tolerable if they were too long. Stepping into the jeans and rolling up the legs, I try not to allow myself to be amused at the sagging waist. 

Suspicion creeping over me, I look out the door to see the cat is gone and I sigh in relief, only to glance down and see the beast winding around my legs. Practically falling over from the surprise, I jump over it with a distinct lack of grace and scramble out of the bedroom and into the living space, yanking the shirt over my head with a flurry of curses. 

"It would appear that the missing person list is ever-expanding this morning, the count reaching a suspected 15 with calls still coming in. Where are all these people going? Stay tuned to hear what experts have to say." 

I pause to watch the television, as face after face flicks across the screen. A variety of age ranges, men and women, from accountants to CEO's people were disappearing from their homes without a trace. I watch the headline roll across the screen, suspected sex trafficker strikes in Long Island.