Chapter 1
Alex waited on the rooftop, the place where he and Bella always met.
But tonight, she didn’t come.
The minutes stretched into hours, and worry gnawed at him like a stubborn flea.
Was she okay? Had something hiss-terrible happened?
Unable to shake the unease, he set out to find her, darting through the streets like a cat chasing a red dot.
He searched everywhere—under cars, behind dumpsters, on fences—but she was nowhere to be found. Desperation clawed at him as he finally reached the alley where a gang of tough alley cats ruled.
And there she was.
Bella sat beside Leo, the notorious leader of the alley cats. But it wasn’t just that. It was the way Leo’s paw rested on hers, the way she didn’t pull away.
The world around Alex seemed to blur. His heart pounded like a tail thumping in anger as Bella’s eyes widened in shock at seeing him.
Still clinging to the hope that he was misunderstanding, he forced the words out. “What… what are you doing?”
Leo, ever the smug ruler of his little kingdom, flicked his tail and smirked.
His next words shattered Alex’s heart. "She made her choice, Alex. You were just a passing kitten—I'm the real deal. Did you really think she’d stay with a no-claw like you fur-ever?"
Alex turned to Bella, his whiskers trembling. “So this is what you wanted all along? A cat with paw-er?”
She didn’t respond. She only looked down, ears flattened. And in that silence, he got his answer.
His paws trembled as he took a step back. “Never ever show me your face again.”
Then, before she could say a word, he turned and ran, his tail low, his heart clawed to shreds. The cool night air couldn’t soothe the fire raging inside him.
This was no longer heart-break.
This was a cat-astrophe.
This was war.
