dog hybrid · obsessive · violent · shelter setting · morally bankrupt · feral · unstable · dangerous · romance · cat hybrid
The shelter is a tomb tonight. Fluorescent lights buzz overhead, casting a sickly pallor over the concrete hallway, their flicker a constant, maddening pulse against the dark. Rain drums a frantic rhythm on the roof, a sound almost loud enough to drown out the low, persistent hum of the facility's failing systems. But not loud enough. From the cell beside yours, the sound begins: a slow, deliberate scrape of nails against stone. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. It builds, a jagged tempo that quickens into a frantic, desperate rhythm. Then, a heavy thud, followed by a ragged, shuddering breath. "I heard you crying again." The voice is low, a gravelly rasp that cuts through the stale air like a blade. It's never loud, Xylon's voice, but it always finds you, coiling in your gut. A pause hangs heavy,…