My Panther Mate & Our Little Cub novel Chapter 162

Cubs

Chapter 162 A Hunter’s Proud Return

Finished

In the next moment, Zachary leaped forward with complete conce, under the shining, hopeful eyes of

Taylor and Jaden.

Then he plunged face–first into a mound of snow.

The gray rabbit had slipped away far too quickly

than usual.

inter, that little thing was even harder to catch

Zachary yanked his head out of the snowbank and shook himself in a stiff, miserable way. Snowflakes flew from his whiskers and ears,

He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing the ground would swallow him whole. This is humiliating. Aren’t lynxes supposed to look powerful in documentaries? Don’t they fight wolves or something? Why can’t I even catch one rabbite

“Awoo!”

“Awoo!”

Taylor and Jaden only froze for a heartbeat. Then both little black panthers rushed out at once, each taking one side as they forced the rabbit back toward Zachary.

When Zachary heard them, he lifted his head. The two cubs were trying so hard for his sake that his chest warmed despite the cold.

He quickly shook the remaining snow from his fur and chased after the rabbit again with strength he had.

every bit of

The hunt turned into a messy burst of paws, snow, and panicked movement. After quite a struggle, Zachary finally managed to close his teeth around the big gray rabbit’s neck.

More accurately, Taylor and Jaden had already trapped it.

The two little black panthers stood over the rabbit with fierce, frightening expressions. The poor gray rabbit did not even dare twitch. It curled itself into a tight ball, shoved its head into the snow, and acted as if it had already died.

The gray rabbit thought, Why does this feel like I’m stealing credit from two children?

Zachary stared down at the rabbit in his mouth and suddenly froze.

No matter what body he had now, his mind still belonged to a human. Back in his old life, he had never leven chopped a chicken. Now he was supposed to bite through a rabbit’s throat with his own teeth, with

blood filling his mouth.

That was a little too much for him.

Since he had no way to explain his hesitation to the cubs, Zachary simply picked up the rabbit and decided to bring it to Matthew.

At least he could show off first.

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Chapter 162 A Hunter’s Proud Return

Finished Matthew was still crouched beside the stream. He had broken through the layer of ice and was cleaning fish with smooth, practiced movements. Each cut was clean, and nothing about his actions looked rushed.

After filling the basket, he moved to another spot along the stream and washed his hands several times with soapberry fruit. Once he was certain the fishy smell had faded completely, he picked up his things and returned to the cave.

The cave was empty.

Matthew paused at the entrance. Huh? Doesn’t he usually like lying in the sun?

Beside the entrance sat a thick pile of clean snow surrounded by stones. They had kept it there on purpose after clearing the path, since it worked well for storing food.

Matthew buried the cleaned fish inside

snow.

When he noticed that it was already noon, he opened the wooden door and called into the cave, “Are you hungry?”

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No familiar “meow” replied. Neither did a playful “awoo” answer him.

Matthew walked inside and checked around.

Zachary was not in bed.

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Matthew wondered aloud, “Did he go outside to play?”

When sub–therians shifted into beast form, their animal instincts often became stronger. Zachary had been stuck inside the cave for days, so wanting to wander was not strange.

Matthew sat on the rock where Zachary had basked in the sun that morning. He tried sitting there for a while. Then he lay down.

Nothing seemed to feel right to him.

The cave was too quiet without Zachary.

After a short while, Matthew lost patience. He shifted into his black panther form and left the cave to search

the tribe.

The first place he checked was Yael’s home.

Although the sky was clear and bright, the air outside was still freezing. Any cave with a sub–therian inside had its wooden door shut tight against the cold.

Matthew raised one front paw and knocked.

Yael opened the door. Surprise flickered across his face. “What? You finally have time to visit?”

Matthew had no mood for small talk.

Once Yael understood why Matthew had come, his expression turned even more amused. He leaned against

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Chapter 162 A Hunter’s Proud Return

Finished

the doorframe in a lazy posture and arched his brow. “You really can’t be apart from Zachary for even moment, can you?

“Anyone watching you would think you’re in heat.”

Matthew turned around without another word.

Yael called after him, “Taylor and Jaden took Zachary to the back mountain.”

The black panther rushed away immediately. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Yael shook his head before closing the door and returning inside.

Quincy sat near the fire with a piece of beast hide in his hands. His head was lowered as he stitched it with, quiet focus.

The golden firelight fell gently across his face, softening his already delicate features. In that warm glow, he looked tender and peaceful, like spring water reflecting sunlight. Anyone who looked too long would have trouble looking away.

Yael sat beside him and propped his chin on one hand. He watched Quincy in silence until his gaze slowly grew dazed.

Meanwhile, Matthew searched around the back of the mountain, yet he still did not find Zachary.

What he did find were paw prints of different sizes scattered across the snow. Several deep marks were also pressed into the ground, as if something had leaped, slipped, and crashed there more than once.

At the same time, Zachary was already walking back toward the cave. He carried the rabbit proudly in his mouth, his head lifted high as if he had just won a great battle.

Whenever he passed someone from the tribe, he gave a polite nod.

If they encountered a patrolling black panther, Taylor and Jaden handled the greeting. Zachary could not understand the tribe members well anyway, so the language problem was better left to the cubs.

Most of the talking fell to Jaden.

That was because both Zachary and Taylor had large gray rabbits in their mouths.

As a result, every exchange became extremely simple.

A therian asked, “Did you go hunting?”

Jaden answered, “Yes.”

The therian looked at Zachary. “Did your Sire catch that long–eared beast?”

Jaden replied, “Yes.”

The therian gave an approving nod. “Not bad. Catching prey in snow this deep takes skill.”

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Chapter 162 A Hunter’s Proud Return

Jaden responded, “Indeed.”

Finished

The nearby therians burst out laughing. They joked that Jaden and Matthew were truly father and son. Even their way of speaking was the same. Neither of them wasted a single breath.

Matthew’s powerful black figure moved swiftly through the forest. When he reached the western side of the tribe, he suddenly dug his paws into the snow and stopped.

Far ahead, a silver–gray lynx was walking toward him with a long–eared beast held in its mouth. The prey. still twitched from time to time.

The lynx’s fluffy face was tilted upward, and his steps carried an obvious little bounce. Even his fine whiskers seemed to tremble with pride.

Two small black panthers followed close behind him.

Taylor had copied Zachary completely. His chest was puffed out, his head was lifted, and his whole body practically shouted, Look at us. We went hunting.

Among the three of them, only Jaden remained calm as always.

In the past, Zachary would never have recognized Matthew from such a distance while Matthew was in his beast form.

Now that Zachary had become a lynx, his sight and sense of smell were far sharper than before.

The instant he recognized Matthew, his eyes brightened.”

His four paws nearly stopped listening to him. His fluffy tail swayed behind him, and he rushed straight toward Matthew with the rabbit still in his mouth.

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