"You fucking piece of shit, I want my money!"

"You rigged it so you'd win."

"Ah, lookie what we have here... He's a pretty little kitty cat."

"You know, if I was a nicer person, I'd just report you to the cops, but unlucky for you, that's not in my nature."

"Boys, teach this loser a lesson."

I was so sick of these nightmares. I'd had a lot over my lifetime, but recently it was always the same thugs mugging me and beating me to an inch of my life. When I first came to the hospital, the images replayed every time I closed my eyes. But thankfully over the weeks I'd been here, they had subsided to only occurring every few days.

Like every other time the nightmares came, I woke with a start, sweating profusely and shaking. My ears were flat on my head and my already fluffy tail bushed up like I'd been electrocuted. Pushing the now too warm blankets off me, I grabbed hold of my long appendage, holding it in my lap and my fingers ran through the soft fur as I tried to soothe my nerves.

Many hybrids sought comfort from others to help their anxiety; however for me, the only person I could count on was myself. At one point, when I was still living in that hellhole house, my tail had developed several bald patches because I was that stressed.

I would have to ask one of the nurses for a brush I thought as I tried to detangle the knots forming in my fur. I didn't really care about the rest of my appearance, preferring to wear black or plain clothes; but I was proud of my tail, especially how I'd been able to restore the thickness and length of my fur there.

I'd just about calmed myself down when the most decadent scent filled the air. I allowed myself to breathe it in deeply, wanting to savour it before it dissipated in the air. It was like the most delicious, sweet, milky dessert that was delicately flavoured with the highest quality vanilla bean. I was surprised that the longer the time went on, the stronger the fragrance became until it filled my entire room.

My eyes widened as there in my doorway stood the most perfect woman.

My mate. I finally found you.

I took the time to look at her, committing every aspect of her to memory. She had the softest looking pale skin, the colour of cream stained with a hint of strawberries. Her lips were full and pillowy; I wondered what they would feel like on my own. She had a cute nose that proportioned her face perfectly. But it was her eyes that held me captive, the most beautiful shade of bluish brown that I could drown in happily.

I loved how she was on the chubbier side as I wasn't attracted to skinny women; in my experience, women who were thin were the ones that were not nice to me. Plus, having a bit more weight on her body meant that she had a very large pair of breasts that I knew I would love to nap on in my cat form. Through the shape of her pants, I could tell her thighs were thick and although I couldn't tell since she was facing me, I would bet her ass was perfectly squishy too.

"Hello, I'm sorry to disturb you like this but I wanted to introduce myself," she said mellifluously as she was entering the room. I saw that she had one of the staff badges on so I knew she worked here, but I didn't know what it was she did. "My name is Cara Randall and I'm the CEO and founder of Sanctuary."

Wow, my mate is the brains behind all this? She's gorgeous and smart.

My respect for her grew immediately as only someone with a kind heart would dedicate their life's work to helping hybrids. "H-hi," I stuttered, nervous of talking to my mate rather than being anxious of having a human in my room. "I'm Yoongi Min." I could tell my cheeks were flushed but I didn't care.

"I have to apologise to you, Yoongi – if I can call you that," she said, looking down shyly before meeting my eyes again. I nodded, hoping that she would say my name again because it had never sounded better in my life. "Usually, I am the one who gives our hybrid patients and residents a welcome stuffie, but I have been extremely busy. So, as an 'I'm sorry' present, please accept this one in addition to the one my assistant gave you." She held out her hand, placing a stuffed toy into my hands.

As if my mate couldn't have been any more amazing, she had to give me the one stuffie that I loved above all else: a Kumamon bear.

I traced the bear's face with my fingertips, admiring at how soft it felt under my touch. Unable to resist, I brought it up to my face and rubbed my cheeks against it, making sure my scent was completely covering the stuffed toy. The blend of our two scents intermingling was the most incredible thing I'd ever smelled in my life.

The smile that came across her face as she watched me accept the softest and cutest Kumamon was nothing short of incredible – it had warmth, kindness, empathy and compassion behind it. Plus, I could detect no ulterior motives in her scent, no bitterness or rotten notes tainted her creamy smell.

"Th-thank you," I managed to squeak out, trying my hardest to stop the happy tears from falling.

"You're welcome," came her reply as she turned to exit the room.

"Would you like to stay? If you aren't too busy, that is." I didn't know where the boldness came from, but all I knew was that I didn't want my mate to leave so soon.

"I can stay and keep you company," she replied with a soft smile as she carried the chair from the corner of the room and placed it beside my bed. She was so close that if I moved my hand just a little, I'd be able to touch hers. "Are you warn enough in here? It's snowing outside so I'd hate for you to be cold."

I assured her that I was all good; the nurses had brought me in a couple of hospital blankets and Lisa had even brought in a fluffy blanket specially for me. I felt warmth blossoming within me at how kind and caring my mate was.

It felt so easy talking to her. She asked me some questions about myself, like what hybrid breed I was and where I called home. I answered honestly, my heart sped up as she grinned hearing I was a Himalayan cat hybrid and then it completely stopped when she mentioned how if she was to adopt a hybrid for herself, she always wanted a cat hybrid. That eased my nerves a lot – she didn't have a hybrid at home to compete with me, and she liked cat hybrids.

"I notice you don't have any flowers in here," she remarked, looking around my room. "Has anyone offered to contact your mate? Or friends and family if you don't have a mate?"

"I have a mate," I said with a smile, not missing how her scent changed into a slightly sour milk smell. I sat up straighter, moving my hand to cover hers that was playing with the edge of the fluffy blanket on my bed. As soon as I touched her skin, I felt warmth and security, instant love and happiness. I had not only found my mate, but I learned she was created just for me by destiny itself.

"Cara, you are my mate," I whispered loud enough for her to hear.

"I... You... mate?" I chuckled softly at her stuttering and the reactions flitting across her features – first wonderment, then confusion, followed by acceptance and finishing with happiness.

I breathed in her intoxicating vanilla cream scent that was wafting off her in waves. I couldn't wait to scent her and breathe in the delicious combination of our combined scents – the juiciest and sweetest strawberries covered in a delicate vanilla cream.

I nodded, smiling. "Yes, I finally found you, my little mate."

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

"So, you're all ready to go to your new home?" Lisa, the kind doctor asked me as she finished my discharge and adoption paperwork.

I nodded enthusiastically, a beaming gummy grin on my face. So much had changed in the two days since I had found my mate.

Cara had stayed in my room as long as she could that afternoon we met but was called away for an important meeting. She did, however, return that night, bringing dinner for the both of us. It might have been the most unconventional first date, but eating takeaway in my hospital room with my mate was everything I could ever have wanted.

Then yesterday, she brought breakfast for us both, including an array of different coffee drinks since she didn't know how I took mine. I opted for a black iced coffee; I did taste hers, but it was too sweet and milky. If I was going to taste something sweet and creamy, I'd rather it be her.

During breakfast, Cara asked if I had somewhere to go when I was discharged from the hospital. I didn't want to return to the tiny room I'd rented, so I admitted that I had been a stray for the past decade. Upon hearing that, she offered for me to move into her house, since she had a spare room. Not wanting to be away from my mate, I accepted instantly. Both of us were grinning like idiots when Dr Lisa walked in to do morning rounds. I laughed as I watched the two women – who I'd learned last night were best friends – squeal and jump around in happiness. It was so cute, even if it hurt my sensitive ears.

"Well, Cara should be down anytime now on," Dr Lisa said, handing over the paperwork. "I'm proud of you, you know?" I looked at her in confusion. "I know how hard it's been for you to trust humans after your attack. I'm proud that you not only accepted having a human mate but are looking so happy now."

I blushed, not used to hearing words of praise from anyone. "I am happy," I declared for the first time in my 30 years of life, my tail happily twitching beside me at the same pace as my heart. "I couldn't ask for a better mate."

"Just promise me you'll take care of her and accept her for who she is. Cara, like you, hasn't had an easy life," the doctor said quietly, coming over to perch on the side of my bed lightly. "She is a big advocate for people loving themselves, but she doesn't often do that to herself. I love her to bits, but you'll come to find there are two facets to Cara – the confident selfless campaigner for hybrids, and the insecure, self-conscious woman. I love my friend to bits, but she doesn't see how beautiful she is the same way we both do."

As I handed her back her fluffy blanket, I promised Dr Lisa that not only would I protect, take care of and accept Cara for who she was, but that I would make sure to tell her every day about how special, beautiful and incredible she is.