In the busy city of New York, there is a pet shop called "Cat's Meow". Here, you can get any type of cat or kitten imaginable. But, this shop has a dirty little secret. In this world, there are such things as a human and cat hybrid called "Nekos". Many people dislike Nekos. They don't consider them human. In their minds, they were as filthy as any wild animal. The owner of "Cat's Meow", Octavian, captures Nekos and abuses them until they become submissive. Even if some of the Nekos he catches are already submissive. He then trains them to stay in cat form when humans are around and to never attack a human. He's gotten away with this for years.
Now, this story isn't about him. It's about one Neko who has suffered Octavian's wrath, Nico di Angelo. Octavian turned this 14 year old Neko from a stubborn and independent boy to a meek and obedient pet. Every day Nico follows the rules Octavian set for all the Nekos in his shop. 1) Never try to escape. 2) When getting adopted, don't fight the humans. 3) Never attack him or any human. And most importantly, Never ever EVER leave cat form when a human is around.
Nico's been content in the small shop, savoring the bits of food Octavian gives all the cats to share when he actually decides to feed them and following the rules to the point. But even that doesn't protect him from Octavian's cruelty. He was sure he was going to die in that old shop, alone. But, that changed the day he came. Will Solace.
Will was 15 years old when he met Nico. After years of begging his parents for a pet, they finally agreed to let him get a cat. Will was overjoyed. He picked a small, black cat to be his. He had no idea that his new, shy little kitty was actually a boy that would change his life.
(I don't own the cover nor the characters in this story. The cover belongs to the person who made it, @FlyingKittysSurf, and the characters rightfully go to Rick Riordon who is the author of Percy Jackson and Heros of Olympic.)