One of the funny things in life was that sometimes you really thought you could handle anything but then life would throw in a little something and you realised you were wrong.

Bridgette Cheng knew this quite well.

She thought she was certain about a lot of things. She thought she was a woman of great discipline. Strong, smart and capable of anything. She worked hard to open her cafe, Lucky Red. Years of saving and countless jobs paid off.

But seeing her old crush in her own cafe just made her froze on the spot and her mind blanked.

Eventually the cries of awaiting customers snapped her out of it. She took orders and delivers them, but her eyes flicker to the lonely blond man. She can't avoid him forever, he was a customer in her cafe and she can't have a bad review in the early days of her career.

So, she took a deep breath, put on her brightest smile and approached him.

"Welcome to Lucky Red! Can I take your order?"

Her old crush ran his chatoyant eyes over her, making her feel like a nervous teenager, just like the last time she saw him.

Then he answered. "I'll have a black coffee and an omelette, if you please."

She nodded and walked back to her kitchen. However, she could feel his stare on her whilst she worked. Pretty sure he was ogling her chest bouncing as she chopped mushrooms, her skin coated with a light sheet of sweat.

He ate his meal, drank his coffee, yet every time she goes over to him to give him his bill, he would ask for a refill.

Soon, as evening drew near, the customers left.

All except for one.

Bridgette sighed. She walked over to him, placing her hands on her hips.

"Excuse me. It's 6 o'clock now."

He stayed put his seat.

"Felix, I'm closing the cafe. You should go home now."

"My home is wherever you are."

His answer surprised her. Stunned. Frozen in place.

His arm shot out, wrapped itself around her waist, and pull her in, nuzzling his face in her stomach.

"Bridgette, I have something I tell you." He murmured against her shirt. His hand rubbed circles on her hip. "I am a werecat."

Bridgette blinked. She grabbed his head and forced him off her, staring down at him.

"Felix, are you drunk on caffeine?"

He frowned. "Bridgette, I am not lying."

He said it with firm seriousness.

She returned the expression. "You're insane." She moved away from him, heading for the phone. "Now get out before I call the cops and the asylum while I'm at it."

A growl, a really convincing one, erupted behind her.

"Really, Felix? Enough of this non- ah!"

When she turned around, Felix wasn't the same as she left him. He was standing up and going through... changes. Changes that the werewolves in the movies have before massacring their victims.

He grew huge, towering over her by a good two or three feet. Coal grey fur sprouted on his skin. His clothes were torn by the extra muscle and his shoes were gone, letting free his huge paws. A long slim tail sprouted from above his derrière. Black cat ears popped on his head. His long hair sprung free of its ponytail, falling untamed over his shoulders. The whites of his eyes turned green and slits appeared in the middle. Claws grew sharp on his fingers.

He was truly telling the truth.

"Now do you believe me?" He flashed her a maniac grin, bearing his fangs.

She screamed.

He reached out and gently took her face in his big hairy, sharp clawed hands.

"Calm down, Bridgette. I'll explain everything." He said softly. His thumbs gently circled her cheeks. "There is a secret society of magical creatures." His body changed back to its previous human form. "On the outside, we look normal. But on the inside...you get the idea."

Bridgette nodded shakily. Her lips quivered.

"W-What do you want?"

"You."

He dove down fast and took her mouth with his. Since her mouth was already open, his tongue slithered in, exploring every inch of the sweet cavern. His hands ran wildly up and down, squeezing her ass as well, which made her gasp, moan in pleasure even.

With little to no trouble, he picked her without breaking their kiss, striving forward to set her on the counter. Once he put her down, he wrapped her legs around his hips, grinding his pelvis into her.

Their kissing broke when his lips jumped to attack her throat. She made all kinds of noises, all made from pleasure.

Then his lips moved up her throat to her head.

"You're mine." He whispered huskily in her ears. "You are my mate."

Bridgette gasped again, but it wasn't because of bliss.

It was of remembrance.

Moaning...Gasping...Footsteps fading...Her left on the ground, dishevelled...Heartbroken...

She was wrong.

The pain of the past had never left. She was still heartbroken. And she never got over it.

Her eyes narrowed. Gathering all her strength, she pushed her old crush off of her, kicking him away for extra measure.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Now she was the one growling irate. She hopped off the counter, her fear and confusion long forgotten. "You left me. Right after taking my virginity!"

Felix gathered himself up. His cat side seeped dangerously though his eyes, his ears, his teeth, until he shook his head and took a deep, calming breath.

"My teen years were painful. It was extremely difficult to contain my wild werecat instincts. Especially when you're around. Because of your obsessive crush on me, I lost control."

Lost Control? That was his excuse for their last encounter?

Bridgette got a vivid remembrance of that incident.

Not that she couldn't forget. It was, for lack of a better word, unforgettable.

She was 17. Young, carefree, naive, and crazy in love with a young Ebenezer Scrooge.

"Felix!"

He scowled at her and walked away.

"Felix!"

She chased him down the street, waving tickets in her hand.

"Felix, wait!"

"I said no, Bridgette. No."

"Come on! It will be fun!"

He grumbled, shaking his head and then took a sharp turn into an alley.

If she hadn't foolishly followed him, she wouldn't have this scar on her heart.

She found him breathing heavily, leaning on a red brick wall with one hand.

"Felix?"

At once on her words, his eyes snapped to her. He had a crazy look in them.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Without any warning, he yelled and lunged for her. She shrieked as his arms trapped her and pulled her in against his hard chest, attacking her.

With his mouth.

She gasped and he took advantage of her open mouth, his tongue exploring inside. Her back slammed against the brick wall as he pushed her to it, trapping her.

Too stunned to move, she just let him lick his tongue wildly inside her mouth, as if he was licking a honey pot clean.

He never once broke the kiss as he pulled down her jean shorts and pink knickers.

The bare skin of his legs barely gave her any warning before his cock impaled her. She screamed, grasping his shoulders throughout the pain.

He thrust hard and fast into her, never stopping, his breath in sharp short grunts. His hips hammered ruthlessly, bringing her and himself over the edge.

His face was buried in between her neck and shoulder, where his unusually sharp teeth bit her pale skin, leaving a big red bloody jaw-mark behind.

And then he suddenly gripped one of her pigtails and pulled, ignoring her yelp, and abruptly his teeth plunged into her nape, sending off a piercing scream from the girl.

The unexpected bite and the rising climax were making Bridgette lose control of herself. She ended up rocking her hips to Felix's rapid rhythm, finding herself enjoying the wild ride.

A dirty alley was NOT the romantic setting she imagined for her first time yet she naively believed that as long her first time was with Felix, she was fine with it.

She wasn't fine with Felix dropping her down like a sack of expired potatoes as soon as their climax reached.

She sat on the ground, legs up, shorts and underwear pulled down to her ankles, breathing heavily to gather some words.

"...Felix?"

He had his back on her as he fixed his clothes back on. Then, without a single word or a glance from his face, he walked away, from her, from their sudden encounter, out of the alley.

The tickets laid abandoned on the dirty ground.

After that, he never looked her way again. He avoided her, breaking her heart. One minute he was animal, the next he was back to his sheltered self. And he left a huge bite on her shoulder and a broken heart.

She couldn't bare look at him after what he took her and then tossed her away.

And since then, she carried the pain on her shoulders. And now forced it upon him as well.

"If you're looking for a repeat, you might as well forget it."

"What am I looking for is much more than a quickie in some gritty alley. I'm looking for you."

"Go and get neutered."

He groaned, finding her acting unreasonably stubborn. "I know this is a lot to take in, but it's true. You are my mate, my soulmate. I knew it the moment I laid eyed on you. We were born to be together."

Bridgette scoffed. "Born to have a quick romp, you mean."

"Werecats claim their mates on first sight. We follow our instincts. To make love with my kind's fated mates and conceive offspring. You're lucky I have the common sense not to throw you on the table and have my way with you, though it is tempting. I've been holding back from my animalistic urges for years. You're human. Ignorant of magic."

"You didn't want me because I'm human, is that it?"

"NO!" His sudden yell sent her stumbling back against the counter. Felix realised his violent outburst and took deep breaths before explaining further. "I just didn't want to scare you. I was young, I didn't know what to do. My father didn't spare any time for me or my brother after losing mother. All I knew is that you are meant for me and we are meant to be together. Forever. As equals. Partners." He lowered his eyes, feeling ashamed of himself and for how he treated her in the past. His mate, the one woman for him and he cherished her like dirt. "I admit I handle it rather terribly. But I always regret it. I regret hurting you, throwing you away, tossing your love aside. And now, I choose to pursue you when you no longer give me your love, whatever you still love me. I hope you do. I hope you can accept me as I am now and then."

The confession was touching, if not also subtly confusing.

"Are you asking me to marry you?"

"Mating bonds are stronger than marriage. Human leave their spouses for somewhat shallow reasons. Mates stay together for life. Especially werecats."

"So…like a werewolf?"

"I'm a were-cat. I can transform at will, silver doesn't kill me and I don't feast on the flesh of others."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Why me though? I'm not even part of your social circle. There are plenty of other women who more qualified to be your wife or mate in this case."

"Marriages between were and those who are not their mates always ended badly and doesn't last long. Arranged marriages are useless. Besides, I don't want any other woman. I want you."

He stretched the words out, trying to get her to understand his feelings.

"How romantic." She only gave him a sarcastic remark.

Ultimately, he sighed in defeat. "I understand you need time to take it all in. I will leave you. For now. Tell Tikki I said hello."

Bridgette blinked. "Tikki? My hamster?"

Felix just put on his coat, laced up his shoes and tied his hair back before he snapped his gaze back on her, scaring her a little.

"I'll change your mind. And you will be mine."

He strived forward to her, planting a kiss on her cheek, and then walked out the door.

Bridgette stand where she was, frozen on the spot. In her hands, she held a red rose that Felix slipped into her hand without her knowing and rolled up bills of €300, 5 times of what he owed her for the multiple orders of coffee and omelette.

She really thought she had moved on from her disastrous crush.

Looks like she was wrong.

He's back.

He wants her.

And he's a werecat.

"Oh bloody hell."