CHAPTER 2 — HUNTED BY FURRIES AND HAUNTED BY MY EX
After wasting half the day crashing on Chase's F-Box, night finally rolled in.
Which meant it was time for my actual job—
finding some idiot criminal whose bounty could pay at least one day of rent.
As I strolled down the evening streets, I felt it.
Those damn tailed furries again.
Stalking me.
They'd been on my tail for two weeks.
Persistent bastards.
I turned into a dark alley.
Bad idea—
but I did it anyway because I'm an idiot with confidence.
The moment I took the turn, all eight of them rushed in.
They pulled out their combos.
I pulled out mine.
A badass hero would say, "Fuck it."
Me?
Facing eight wolfmen with guns?
"I wish I had a gun too," I whispered.
I closed my eyes, heard their fingers tighten on the triggers…
…
And I ran.
Full sprint.
No shame.
The Chase
Why the hell were wolfmen after me?!
I never messed with any wolf clan.
I don't even like steak.
One catwoman lunged at me from a wall.
"GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE, YOU FISH-SNIFFER!" I spat, tornado-kicking her off.
More wolves joined.
All in perfect uniform.
Wolfmen.
In discipline.
That alone was a cosmic violation.
Their uniforms…
Looked familiar too.
I was drowning in questions when a girl waved at me from behind a dumpster.
"Quick! Hide behind me!"
I bolted toward her, panting, grateful, emotional—
and leaned in to kiss her cheek in thanks…
And the "girl" shifted into a guy.
I screamed like a dying kettle.
"IYAAAAAHHHHHH!"
And blacked out.
The Predator in the Dark
Consciousness returned like a slap.
My wrists were chained in thick, heavy shackles.
The room around me wasn't a room—
it was an empty black void.
Not even rats.
The only light was moonlight dripping through a barred window.
Enough to stop my nyctophobia from melting my brain.
Then I felt it.
My bloodline screamed.
A predator.
Strong.
Furious.
Hungry.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Confident.
Red eyes ignited in the dark like twin lasers.
A growl echoed—rage, hunger, desperation… and something like wicked delight.
The moonlight carved her face into existence.
A Jinko.
Elite among beastmen.
Disciplined.
Deadly.
One of the biggest mafia clans in the country.
My throat went dry enough to suffocate me.
"Finally," she purred.
"After years… you are under my claws."
Her laugh…
I recognized it.
"…Sherry?"
She froze.
Then her eyes flared with pure homicidal nostalgia.
She charged.
Her claws stabbed the wall beside my head.
"How DARE you?!" she roared.
"After EVERYTHING you did—how can you forget me?!"
Sweat poured.
My knees shook.
I think I saw my grandpa's disappointed ghost.
"Nothing is more pathetic than forgetting the name of a woman," he once said.
"I—no—hehe—you've… changed—"
"YOU BETRAYED ME!"
Her tail thrashed like a whip.
"You're the reason I'm like this now!"
"Well you should thank me," I blurted.
"You're not 5'4 anymore. You're definitely not the shortie I once b—"
Her claw touched my neck.
Intimately.
Threateningly.
Like it was our wedding night and she was choosing where to stab.
"I did not bring you here to listen to your crap, Rivenrrrrr."
Her voice cracked into a growl.
"I want you."
Not romantic.
Not seductive.
It was the tone people use to order tacos at Taco-Well.
"This is… a weird way of proposing… but I'm not interes—"
Her claws plunged into my chest.
I gasped.
Pain exploded.
Warm blood soaked my shirt.
"OKAY! I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!"
She pulled her claws out, licking the blood off like some unhinged hygienic ritual.
"Rest for now, Rabbit," she said softly.
"Welcome back to my world… and your cage."
She walked away.
No explanation.
No plan.
No mercy.
Just the lingering scent of vengeance and perfume that used to ruin my self-control.
I lay there, bleeding, trembling.
What did she want?
What was she planning?
No clue.
But one thing was certain:
The table's being set.
And I'm the main dish