My Panther Mate & Our Little Cub novel Chapter 126

Transmigrated to Raise Panther Cubs

Chapter 126 Marketers

Finisher

They moved through the crowd holding the food out, working the space like seasoned promoters at a tasting event, pausing every few steps to offer samples. “Care to try?”

“One bite and your whole world changes. You won’t forget it for the rest of your life.”

“These were made with our special spice blend.”

“You know what spices are, right?”

The merfolk couldn’t take their eyes off what Kyle and Daniel were holding. They shook their heads slowly, and their mouths began watering at a very rapid pace.

“That’s perfectly fine, because we brought some along specifically to share. Good things are meant for everyone.”

Zachary rested his chin on Matthew’s shoulder and watched the whole performance with quiet admiration. It was a good thing their products were genuinely excellent, or Kyle and Daniel would have come across exactly like a pair of con artists running a door–to–door scheme on unsuspecting people.

Matthew turned his head slightly, and the soft strands of Zachary’s hair brushed across the tip of his nose. It was warm and carried a faint, pleasant fragrance.

The spice blend had completely won over the merfolk tribe’s population, but Yael and Ethan’s arms were practically giving out.

They were grilling as fast as they possibly could, and it still wasn’t enough.

They barely had time to eat anything themselves.

Yael managed exactly one prawn, and only because Taylor, putting their earlier conflict behind him, personally held it up to his mouth.

It moved Yael so deeply that he swore on the spot to never torment the cub again.

The prawn had, however, been dropped in the sand beforehand. It was a bit gritty.

Out on the rocks, Red watched the distant fire with his eyes still full of wanting and licked his fingertips slowly. The flavor had been remarkable.

He had no idea where Matthew had found someone like that.

The seafood broth had been exceptional, and Zachary had gone back for two extra bowls. He was now pleasantly overfull and decided a walk along the shoreline would do him some good.

Matthew and Donald had matters to discuss regarding the following day’s trades.

Zachary slipped away on his own.

The moon was out, and the ocean at night wasn’t fully dark. It held a deep, saturated blue, and the wind that rolled in off the water carried the sharp, clean bite of salt.

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Zachary walked along the sand, and then a voice reached him from somewhere nearby, clear and strange and strangely compelling, drawing him toward the rocks along the shore before he’d fully registered that he was moving,

In the moonlight, the face was arrestingly beautiful. The scales along the red tail caught the light and threw it back like scattered jewels.

Red looked up at the approaching figure and let a slow smile senle at the corner of his lips. “What’s your

name?”

The sound of his voice snapped Zachary back to himself. He hadn’t realized how far he’d walked.

Had this fish done something to him?

Or was it actually true, what the stories said, that a merfolk’s song could reach into a person and pull them along without consent?

Red’s eyes carried an easy amusement. “Well? Why so quiet?”

Zachary took two steps back.

“Scared of me?”

“Yes,” Zachary replied, without any hesitation. “You look a little unsettling.”

“Why would you be scared of me?” Red was genuinely confident in his own appearance, so the reaction surprised him. “Am I not attractive?”

Zachary looked around.

The rocks jutted at odd angles in every direction, the waves broke cold and indifferent, and there wasn’t another soul in sight.

“You’re almost too attractive, which in this particular setting makes you look somewhat spectral.”

If Yael and Matthew hadn’t introduced him earlier, Zachary would have run without a second thought. “Spectral?” Red assumed the word was adjacent to a compliment given what preceded it. He pushed off from the rocks and surfaced closer, resting his arms on the edge. “Come in for a swim. The water’s fine.” “I’m not a fish,” Zachary said flatly. This merfolk was odd. He turned to leave.

“Don’t go yet.” Red found the whole situation genuinely entertaining and tried using his voice to coax Zachary into staying.

Zachary immediately pressed both hands over his ears and walked faster.

Red stared after him in silence for a moment. Then, he came ashore quickly and stepped in front of Zachary to block the path. “Just talk with me for a while.”

“No,” Zachary said.

“You’re going back to Matthew? Is he your mate?”

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Chapter 126 Marketers

Zachary decided this merfolk asked an exhausting number of questions.

“I have a secret about Matthew,” Red said. “And I’ll tell you what it is.”

Zachary looked up. “What secret?”

Red smiled. He leaned in and asked. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay? What’s so great about a male with a face like a frozen mountain? You’d be better off staying in the merfolk tribe. We have plenty of exceptional therians here.”

Red lifted a hand and leaned forward, fixing his gaze on Zachary with direct and deliberate intensity. “And if none of them suit you, there’s always someone even more exceptional. Me, for instance.”

“You’re the one with a face like a frozen mountain,” Zachary mocked, cutting him a sidelong look. “And good looks don’t make a fish exceptional.”

Red didn’t appear remotely offended. He asked with a smile, “Do you have real feelings for Matthew?

“In the merfolk tribe, we recognize only one mate in a lifetime. The scales over our hearts guide us to that person, and it has nothing to do with strength or rank.”

Zachary looked at him without comprehension.

“Many sub–therians and therians on land form mate bonds not because of love,” Red said. “But because survival demands it. In the merfolk tribe, love is worth more than life itself.”

A particular light moved through his eyes. “So, when you and Matthew became mates, was love? Or because you needed to survive?”

Zachary went still.

because of

He turned and looked out at the grey–blue surface of the water, and for the first time, the question actually reached him.

What was the reason? He wasn’t sure he’d ever actually thought about it.

Survival? When he’d first arrived in this world, maybe all he’d truly wanted was to stay alive.

But now?

Zachary’s thoughts scattered in too many directions at once.

“Love doesn’t require deliberation,” Red said quietly. “You hesitated, so stay.”

Zachary looked up at him and held his gaze, and his refusal came before he’d even fully formed the thought. “I’m not staying.”

In the distance, a familiar figure was walking toward him with quick, purposeful strides.

Red smiled with genuine regret, but he kept his word and leaned close to Zachary’s ear. “Matthew’s secret is…”

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