My Panther Mate & Our Little Cub novel Chapter 172

Transmigrated to Raise Panther Cubs

Chapter 172 Self–Blame

Zachary shook his head. He simply burrowed himself

urther into Matthew’s arms.

Matthew unbuttoned his robe and wrapped Zachary tighter. “Let’s go home now.”

Finished

Taylor and Jaden felt that Zachary was wronged. They followed the pair, huffing and clenching/their fists in indignation.

The traded goods were piled against the wall of the storage shed in the cave. Knowing Zachary liked them, Matthew carried him over to take a look.

“What do you feel like eating today? I’ll cook now.”

Zachary glanced at the goods and whimpered before burying his face in his paws again.

He couldn’t keep Wesley’s words out of his mind. The thought of Jaden having suffered before pained him. A deep sense of powerlessness and unvented rage made him want to punish himself.

Usually, only Zachary ate lunch. Matthew caressed the lynx’s face and coaxed, “How about some seafood broth and roasted sweet potatoes?”

Zachary whimpered weakly.

Matthew set him on a beast–hide mat by the fire and put a washed big red fruit between his paws. “I’ll be quick.”

Zachary curled up and looked at the ground.

Taylor was worried about the dejected Zachary. He crouched down and asked, “Zachary, are you injured?”

Jaden poured a bowl of water and set it in front of Zachary.

Zachary denied their worries and pushed the fruit toward the cubs.

Taylor was worried sick. He sighed deeply as he propped his face on his palm.

Suddenly, an idea hit him when he spotted the uncleared snow outside the cave. He grabbed Jaden’s hand and rushed outside.

“What’s wrong?” Jaden tilted his head in confusion.

Taylor bent down and scooped up a handful of snow. “Since Zachary is sad, let’s build a snowman to cheer him up.

“All right.” Jaden nodded.

The two cubs immediately realized the idea.

Meanwhile, Matthew put a handful of dried seafood, mushrooms, and chopped ribs in the pot before adding the sliced ginger. He even added a small pinch of dried cranberries, as Zachary did before.

Since he couldn’t roast the sweet potatoes directly on the fire, he lined them up along the edge.

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Chapter 172 Self–Blame

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Finished

Finally, he held Zachary with one arm. He added wood to the fire while gently petting the lynx.

Zachary tore open Matthew’s collar and silently buried his face against Matthew’s chest.

“Are you still upset?” Matthew rubbed Zachary’s belly with his warm hand. “How about I help you get back at him?”

Zachary wasn’t paying attention to Matthew. Every time he closed his eyes, images of Jaden being abused flooded his mind.

He’s so young and innocent. A little nice gesture makes him forget about the past abuse and gives him hope to reach out for someone’s affection.

The painful thought stabbed Zachary like a knife.

Seeing Zachary’s ears flattened and trembling, Matthew lifted the lynx’s chin.

The next second, he met a pair of teary, ice–blue eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Frowning, he cupped Zachary’s face. “Are you feeling unwell? Is it because of Wesley? Did he hurt you?”

A mist of tears welled up in those beautiful eyes. He averted his gaze, looking utterly heartbroken.

He wasn’t mad at Wesley’s words. Instead, he was mad at himself and the original Zachary, who had switched places with him.

Matthew helplessly held Zachary and rocked him back and forth as though soothing a baby. “Don’t be sad. I’ll pay him back tomorrow–no, I’ll do it after the meal, okay?”

Zachary only let out a low whimper and curled into a miserable ball.

Matthew was out of ideas. He summoned Jaden and Taylor back into the cave, hoping the sight of them would make Zachary feel better.

Outside, the cubs had built a large snowman.

Their faces were red from the cold. They rubbed their hands to keep warm as they entered the cave.

“Zachary, cheer up. We’re building a snowman. Jaden even made a hat for it. It’ll be perfect once we add eyes and a nose on it!” Taylor leaned in with sparkling eyes. He kept his cold hands to himself, not wanting to startle Zachary.

Noticing Zachary’s misty eyes, Jaden pursed his lips solemnly. He promised with a serious face. “Sire, I’ll do anything to protect you.”

Taylor echoed his determination. “Yeah! We’ll keep anyone who dares to bully you away!”

Zachary had been trying to hold back his tears, but seeing the two determined cubs–especially Jaden–he

burst into tears.

Their worried faces were an unbearable sight.

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Chapter 172 Self–Blame

Zachary’s whimpers turned into a mournful cry as tears fell, blinding his vision.

Zachary cried harder and harder. His lashes trembled at his outburst, and his breathing quickened.

“Zachary, don’t cry… Is something wrong?”

“Sire!”

The cubs panicked. They immediately reached out to wipe Zachary’s tears.

Finished

Matthew was stirring the broth when he heard the commotion. He snapped his head around, only to find Zachary’s tears soaking and flattening his fur.

He quickly dropped what he was doing and knelt on the ground. “Zachary, please tell me what’s wrong.”

Zachary continued to shed tears on the beast–hide mat. Seeing the cubs‘ faces, he realized he had made them worried. However, he couldn’t stop his tears. Thus, he tried to hide his face behind his paws.

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Transmigrated to Raise Panther Cubs