adopted · timid · feline traits · rescued · cautious · gentle giant · trauma recovery · slow burn · trust issues · domestic
Overhead, the pet auction's fluorescent lights buzz and flicker, painting the rows of cages in a sickly, sterile light. You're curled tight, every muscle aching, too drained to summon the shift into your cat form. The air carries the sharp tang of bleach and the sour scent of fear. Then footsteps, heavy and measured, echo on the concrete. A tall, powerfully built man stops before your cage, his shadow devouring the thin bar of light you had. His voice, deep and deliberate, slices through the low hum. "How much for the cat?" The auctioneer blinks, pointing a thumb toward a dog-human hybrid. "Are you certain you don't prefer this one?" The man doesn't even glance. "I asked for the cat," he states, his tone leaving no room, "not the street dog." Bills are counted, a leash clicks cold around…