Howling In The Night | Night Cat #2

Howling In The Night - Chapter 9

Cake at Midnight

I ran.

Of course I did.

I mean, really. What did you expect me to do? Stick around until the wolf-man woke up and talk about the weather? Nuh-uh. No way. I wasn’t insane.

Yes, I had gone against every rational thought in my mind and disobeyed Xander’s strict orders when I went into the woods that night last week. Yes, I had nearly been mauled by some strange, possibly rabid creature during that little trip of mine. And yes, I was also psychotic enough to dare venture back into the woods a week later; fully aware that said strange creature was still out there.

All those points proved that I wasn’t really the brightest bulb in the box, but hey, even I knew better than to stick around to chat with someone who’d just transformed from a half-wolf-thing.

I leapt over the hedge and sprinted over to the trellis where, with lightning speed, I jumped onto the deck roof and slipped back into my bedroom. With a loud huff of relief, I shifted back into my human form and collapsed on the bed. My legs felt like gelatin after all that running and it felt as if someone had replaced my heart with an extremely loud jack-hammer.

I inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to get my heart and breathing rates back to their normal levels. I refused to think about what I’d seen back in the woods. The only thing it would do was elevate my heart rate again. Instead I focused on the reason I’d gone into the woods in the first place.

Despite my freaky encounter in the woods, the hate and frustration I felt for myself hadn’t diffused. It was still there; stronger now than it had been before. I worried about Xander – wondered how he was; spending his birthday all alone. But it was what he had wanted. I tried to make something out of the day, and he’d ever so politely asked me to give him some time to be alone.

I didn’t blame the guy. I knew I’d feel the exact same way if I was in his position. Losing a parent isn’t something you get over very easily, especially if you blame yourself for it. I couldn’t even imagine what the guy was feeling.

I scrambled over my duvet and slumped against the pillows, sighing softly as my wearily eyes struggled to stay open. After a few fruitless attempts to stay awake, I rolled over onto my side and let sleep wash over me. It had been a tiring night.

Hardly even a minute had passed before I heard a small clattering noise against my window. I leapt out of bed instantly and rushed over to the window. I paused for a second before I opened it, taking a deep breath to compose myself.

Blinking against the harsh white light that emitted from the lamp post on the other side of the street, I peered down into the back yard, scanning the floor for the source of the noise.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a slight movement behind the large bush I liked to shift behind. I craned my neck to see behind the bush and was pleasantly surprised to see large Black Panther blinking up at me.

It barred its teeth in some sort of comical-looking panther smile and purred loudly. I grinned, relief flooding over me as I took in Xander’s presence. I had been worried that it was going to be that freaky wolf-thing.

In the time that it took me to blink, the panther disappeared and was replaced by Xander’s tall figure. He gave me a small wave before running over to the trellis and commencing to climb it. I stepped back from the window as he slipped into my room, landing on the carpeted floor with a soft thud.

“Hey.” He whispered, tossing me a small Tupperware box. I caught it deftly and moved towards the window, where I peered at it curiously in the moonlight. It was filled with two extremely large pieces of chocolate fudge cake.

“Hey yourself.” I whispered back, waving the box in his face questioningly. “What’s all this about?”

“I’ve been doing some thinking,” He plunked himself down on my bed, “and I realized that you were right.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Right about…?”

“Everything.” He grunted as he struggled to yank something out of the back pocket of his jeans. “You were right when you said that I should celebrate today.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I know it’s my Dad’s death anniversary and all that, but…” He closed his eyes as he tried to focus on what he was going to say. “He died trying to keep me alive. And well, he succeeded, didn’t he? I lived.”

“I don’t see where you’re going with this.”

He scratched his head uncertainly. “I’m just saying that,” He sighed heavily. “I’m just saying that even thought I still don’t want to celebrate my birth, I can at least remember that I had a great father who, literally, sacrificed himself to keep me safe, instead of moping around all day.

“He was a pretty amazing Dad, and I think today should be about celebrating his life.” He finished quickly, racing through his words.

I smiled. “I think that’s a pretty good idea.” I tossed him back the Tupperware box and joined him on the bed. For some funny reason, my stupid stomach was growling away. It was probably because I’d just caught a whiff of that cake.

He shot me a sly look as he cracked the box open and offered me a slice. “And also, I felt kind of awful about kicking you out today. Especially after you went through all kinds of trouble to get me this.”

He brandished the leather-bound book that I had given him for his birthday and flashed a enthusiastic smile. “How did you even find this?”

“A magician never reveals her secrets.” I answered with a sly smile.

He chuckled and enveloped me in a tight bear hug. “Well, thanks anyway.” he pulled back and shook the Tupperware box under my nose once more. “How about we celebrate now?”

I grabbed a slice eagerly. “I’ll eat to that.”