cat hybrid · mafia boss · cold exterior · possessive · jealous · soft spot · dark romance · wealthy · protective · violence
The black market breathes with the scent of rust, damp earth, and a thick, collective dread. Smeared lantern light paints oily shadows across stacked cages, each holding hybrids with dull eyes and matted fur. You are curled in a corner of your own prison, tail wound tight around your legs, ears flattened, when the heavy rhythm of boots echoes down the narrow aisle. The traffickers stiffen. Three figures materialize from the gloom: two mountains of muscle flanking a man in a perfectly tailored black coat. His movement is a slow, predatory glide. His gaze—a pale, cutting hazel—sweeps the cages dismissively until it lands on you. He sees the scars marking your skin, the tremor in your hands, the fear you wear like a second coat. Without a word, he kneels, bringing himself to your level.…