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Mello sprang up onto the table and let out a meow. It was a funny little sound—a two-tone trilling chirp. It always sounded like "hello", or rather "mello", hence her name. Tilting her head, she lightly headbutted him, rubbing her cheek along his hand. She meowed again, louder this time, demanding.
Nolan smirked. “Yes, yes, hello to you too.”
He scratched under her chin, fur soft against his fingers and she let out a warm, throaty purr. A smile tugged unbidden at the corner of his lips, and he snorted. “Cute little shit, aren’t you?”
Her purrs swelled louder, vibrating as if in agreement and Nolan laughed—a soft unguarded chuckle that surprised him. The knot in his chest seemed to loosen near this scrappy caliby. He didn’t quite understand it, this ease that settled over him. It was unearned, unasked, yet offered all the same
He ran a finger along her back, tracing the slight ridges of her spine. She was no longer the same scrawny little thing he’d first rescued. A healthy layer of fat had softened her bony frame, cushioning her ribs and rounding her out with plush, gentle curves. Her fur was no longer matted—now silky and gleaming. Even her tail curled with new confidence.
Something surged in his chest, fierce, tender and unbidden.
Without thinking, he gently gathered her into his arms and pulled her close, cradling her against the warmth that bloomed just behind his ribs. Mello didn’t protest. She merely let out a tiny mew and gazed up at him with wide, unblinking eyes. They caught the light, glowing softly with quiet trust. Then slowly, deliberately, she squeezed them shut in a long blink. Once.
Then a second time.
And a third.
Something caught his throat at the sight.
He’d heard about this before. The cat kiss, they called it. It was a gesture shared only when a cat felt truly comfortable and safe around their person. Her paws were folded, tucked loosely against her chest. She looked like a little angel nestled in his arms.
The warmth in his chest swelled suddenly, almost painfully. It burned like a flame, aching and bright, threatening to overtake him. He didn’t understand it. How something so small could make him feel so known. Why her trust, her unflinching acceptance of him dislodged something in his core. It was like she saw past the noise of him and didn’t flinch. Omega, beta, alpha…She didn’t care about his station. None of that nonsense mattered.
Somehow, it freed him.
Helpless to the ache searing through him, he leaned in and pressed the softest kiss between her ears, breathing in her sweet, dusty scent. She mewed again, soft and small beneath him, and his throat tightened.
She was a gift he hadn’t known he needed.
“I love you,” he whispered, his breath warm against her fur. The words slipped from him, honest and fragile. He cringed inwardly, the unexpected vulnerability making his shoulders tense.
But Mello purred against him, steady and true—rumbling like thunder against his heart. And just like that, the ache in him eased. He let out a chuckle, voice suddenly gone rough.
“Yeah, I love you.”