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17| Shifting Bonds

Author: Sam Gritli
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

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
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