Title: "The Price of Creation"
The car sped down the empty road, the trees blurring in the distance. Claire sat in the passenger seat, her hands clenched into fists, trying to suppress the rising frustration.
"How could you embarrass me like that back there?" her boyfriend, Jake, shouted over the roaring engine.
"I wasn’t trying to embarrass you!" Claire defended, her voice cracking under the weight of emotions. "I just think dismissing my work in front of everyone was unfair."
"You’re always going on about your experiments!" Jake snapped, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. "It’s exhausting, Claire. Maybe if you acted normal for once, we wouldn’t have these problems."
Claire’s heart sank. "So that’s it? You want me to stop being who I am?"
Jake sneered. "You just don't get it, do you? This relationship isn’t working. I’m done."
He slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop on the deserted roadside.
"Jake... what are you doing?" Claire whispered, fear creeping into her voice.
"Get out," he said coldly.
"You're leaving me here?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Maybe it'll give you time to think about how you mess things up," he muttered.
Before she could say another word, he reached across her, unbuckled her seatbelt, and shoved the door open. Claire stumbled out onto the side of the road, and without a second glance, Jake sped off, leaving her standing alone in the night.
She walked for hours, her heels clicking softly on the asphalt, mind swirling with emotions—anger, sadness, confusion. When she finally made it home, her heart was shattered.
---
At her therapist’s suggestion, Claire threw herself back into her work, trying to drown her sorrow in experiments and chemicals. She wanted to create something new—something to fill the emptiness inside her. That’s when the idea hit her: she would make a hybrid.
Weeks of sleepless nights and endless trials followed, but she finally succeeded. From a mixture of feline DNA and human cells, she created him. A male hybrid with sleek black hair, golden slit-pupil eyes, cat ears that twitched at every sound, and a long tail that swayed lazily behind him. He could switch between the form of a regular cat and a human with cat-like features.
Claire stared in awe at the creature she’d made. "You’re perfect..." she whispered, cradling the small black cat in her arms.
But what she didn’t know was that behind those golden eyes, her creation was already developing an obsession.
The hybrid, whom she affectionately named Felix, appeared cold and aloof on the surface. He acted like he despised her, hissing when she got too close, or knocking over objects just to irritate her. But every night, after she fell asleep, Felix would creep into her room.
When in his human form, he would wrap his tail tightly around her waist, as if to mark her. His tongue—rough like a cat’s—would trail along her neck, leaving invisible marks only he knew were there. And she never noticed.
---
One day, Claire smiled brighter than usual, something Felix couldn’t help but notice. She was texting someone—a man.
“I have a date tonight,” she told Felix with excitement in her voice, as if trying to convince herself this was what she needed.
Felix, sitting lazily in his cat form, narrowed his sharp eyes. "Take me with you," he demanded, his voice grumpy. "Or I’ll ruin all your furniture."
