Tangled With The Fated Mates

Shifting Bonds

Claudine first heard the menacing and lethal hiss of the cat before she spotted it crouched in the corner of the room.

Although it lay on its belly, it appeared ready for attack, prepared to pounce and seize one of the rats scurrying about.

Claudine hushed herself as she observed the cat hiss even more strongly, bare its teeth, and then leap, successfully capturing one of the rats.

With sharp canines, it tore its prey into pieces, extracting every last bit of life and vitality from it.
The room transformed in an instant.

The scared rats vanished like ghosts, leaving behind an eerie stillness. Claudine surveyed the aftermath, struck by the sudden silence that enveloped the room, though the strong smell of rat pee lingered.

Balancing on the worktop table, she contemplated her next move. Descending seemed unwise, for the cat's intentions remained unknown.

Her eyes never left the feline form at the room's center, now engrossed in licking his furs, an oddly serene juxtaposition to the recent brutality.

Claudine watched with amazement at the feline beauty. She got down from the table as slowly and as gently as she could manage.

She stretched out her hand, and her fingers trembled lightly.

"Easy now," she said with a shaky voice, approaching with care.

The cat's fierce gaze softened as it delicately groomed itself, the remnants of the rat forgotten beside it. Claudine inched closer.

"There, there. It's just me," she murmured, her voice soothing.

The cat had taken its eyes from her and was back to licking its paws, cleaning her coat with the pink tongue.

When Claudine was very close, the cat as if on impulse, glanced up and hissed. Claudine recoiled.

"Come on now, it's just me," she said in a gentle whisper. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She nearly laughed at the thought of hurting the cat. She had been timid enough to be frightened by rats. How was she going to hurt a cat?

She was only trying to appreciate the cat who had come out of nowhere to save her. The cat hissed again and began to retreat slowly.

"Don't go now, kitty," Claudine implored.

"Come on, I'm just a friend. And aren't you my friend too?"

But the cat did not stop. It retreated till it got near the door, and that was when Claudine saw how it had entered.

There was a small window adjacent to the door. The cat, agile and graceful, leaped up and fled through the opening.

"Ohh, no," Claudine said to herself.

With the cat gone, she felt alone and afraid once more. What if the rats returned? She clutched her throat to choke down the tears that were burning through it as she looked around her.

The room was even more filthy. A lone bulb with a dullish yellow glow hung from the ceiling, its light dimming and brightening up intermittently.

The stench of the urine-filled her nostrils, and she felt nauseous. Her head began to throb, and it felt like it might blow up at any minute.

She looked at the window again. It was too small for her. Even the cat had had to squeeze itself out.

"No, this isn't happening," she said to herself as she smacked her forehead. This only increased the ache in her head, and she groaned.