How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Twenty-One: Pack Meeting

~Chapter Twenty-One: Wolf Politics~

"So, what did Evan say?"

Ryland's sigh is clear as day, even through the phone, meaning that the conversation must not have gone well. "The moment I mentioned you – or rather, the leopard – he said that he would not talk to me unless you are present," he reports. I doubt it was Evan's refusal to talk that made him sulky, but rather that he probably argued about it...and lost.

"Did the big bad lion lose to a little human?" I tease. If we were face-to-face, I would never have made that comment. However, five miles – soon to be over five thousand – is a pretty safe distance and I am willing to take the chance.

"I could easily cancel my flight," he replies, making me flinch. Considering how easily he settled in here, it is safe to say he has a great deal of money to his name. Cancelling an airplane ticket probably would be of little concern for him. Though, this is just speculation with no real proof...but do I really want to take that chance?

No...

"Please don't," I answer, keeping my voice steady, but carefully cheerful. I still do not know a whole lot about his personality, but I do know that when I am bothered by something that is not all that serious, to him at least, he usually finds it funny.

"Come here and give me a goodbye kiss, then I may forget," he purrs.

Instead of replying, I end the call and snap the phone closed. Even though it is not physically possible, I can practically hear Ryland chuckling to himself when he realizes I hung up on him. When he does not immediately call back, I know that he was not serious about canceling his flight.

I am relieved, to say the least, that I will have the rest of the afternoon to myself. My last class of the day was cancelled, giving me an extra couple of hours before I have to pick up my sister from the airport and with Ryland leaving, I have little to worry about. Washing my clothes with a crap-ton of scented laundry detergent is something I have to do in the next few minutes, as well as taking the tops off some of the scented candles to release their strong smells.

Thankfully, Ryland has not come to my cabin since Monday. That did not stop him from dragging me over to his apartment whenever he could, though, usually for a meal or some small talk. After some coercing, Ryland even agreed to put some air-fresheners in his apartment before he leaves to make his scent less clear.

We are cutting it a little short by having him fly out Friday afternoon, but it was the only available plane on such short notice. It is harder to find a flight plan when you have to take multiple planes to get where you are going. Unless something happens, Ryland will be flying back Monday night.

After I gather all the clothing I have that could possibly have a chance of smelling like Ryland, including the clothes I am currently wearing, I toss them into the washing machine and add a generous amount of my new scented detergent. Unless Heather is looking for something, she will not find any signs that Ryland was ever here.

Heather already knows that after I pick her up and drop her off here, I will be driving over to Dylan's for the pack meeting. Since I am still not sure of the reason for me being there, I told Heather that it is possible I might end up staying with Dylan for the night. She was not happy to find all this out, but she knows that a good relationship with the local pack means a healthy living condition, which kept her complains to a minimum.

As I finish cleaning the rest of my cabin, which is relatively easy since I cleaned it for Ryland a few days ago, my phone beeps to warn me of a new text message. It is from Ryland.

-Can I pick you up Tuesday after you return from classes?

I have no idea why he wants to do that, but after a weekend of sending him away for my benefit, I kind of owe him. At the very least, I can get him to tell me what he wants from our deal. I really hate making blind deals, but there is not much of a choice with this one.