My Panther Mate & Our Little Cub novel Chapter 42

Chapter 42 A Familiar Safe Space

Many sub-therians came after hearing about him. They even brought their own food, hoping to learn cooking from Zachary.

Matthew carried a freshly hunted baa beast on his shoulder. He walked through the forest and stepped over the morning dew as he headed toward the cave.

Faced with so many enthusiastic therians, Zachary didn’t know what to do at first. Quincy and Elias weren’) around either.

In his past life, he didn’t have many friends. His social circle was small. He liked staying home and reading. After his grandparents passed away, he had been all alone.

Now he had to deal with so many strangers all of a sudden. He was even the center of attention. Zachary felt awkward and uneasy. He pulled Jaden along to keep him company and ease the tension.

After what felt like a long time, he finally spotted a familiar figure. It felt like seeing a lifesaver. He quickly walked over and waved at Matthew from afar.

Matthew brushed off the weeds on his body before getting closer. When he saw Zachary’s nervous expression, he frowned slightly. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine.” Zachary let out a breath and shook his head. As he spoke, he reached out to take what Matthew was carrying.

“No need. I’ll handle it by the stream.”

“I go with you,” Zachary said right away.

Matthew’s gaze passed over Zachary’s shoulder and landed on the therians in front of the cave. Then he looked back at Zachary’s face. He hesitated for a moment before asking, “Are you afraid of therians?”

Zachary felt a little embarrassed. He lowered his voice. “Quincy and Elias aren’t here. I don’t really know everyone.”

“Wait for me.” Matthew walked quickly to the cave and said a few words to Kyle and the others. Then he took Zachary to the stream to deal with the prey.

They said they would do it together, but Matthew handled everything. He cut open the beast, skinned it, and drained the blood.

Zachary wasn’t used to this kind of scene. At most, he had seen therians in the village kill a chicken or a pig during the holidays. He always stayed far away.

The clear water slowly turned red. The strong metallic smell of blood spread through the air.

Zachary wanted to help, but as soon as he got closer, his body reacted first. He covered his nose and stepped back. His stomach churned, and he felt nauseous.

Therians were sensitive to this smell, but they were already used to it. During hunting, the smell of fresh blood even made them more excited.

10:44 Fri, Jun 5

Chapter 42 A Familiar Safe Space

“Not feeling well?” Matthew stopped what he was doing and looked up at Zachary,

“I’m fine.” Zachary bit his lip and forced down the discomfort. He kept telling himself he had to get used to

Matthew sped up. It didn’t take long before he finished processing the prey. He stood up and looked at Zachary. “Not leaving?”

Zachary rubbed his calf. “My leg’s numb.”

Matthew reached out his hand. Zachary grabbed it and used the support to stand up.

The moment their palms touched, a cool feeling spread through his skin.

Matthew frowned slightly and looked at him. “Are you cold?”

“No. I just touched water,” Zachary said.

Matthew let go only after Zachary stood steady. He rubbed his fingertips, lost in thought.

Back at the cave, the therians were working hard. With more therians helping, everything moved faster.

Quincy and Elias had already arrived. They were outside setting up a temporary cooking area. When Zachary saw them, he perked up right away.

Matthew lowered his head and said something to Jaden. The child turned to look at Zachary. For the rest of the morning, he kept glancing at him. He even came over from time to time.

The baa beast looked like a modern black goat. Its fur was dark, and it had two thick, sharp horns. By then, Matthew had already cut it into several pieces. The meat was bright red and firm. It looked delicious.

Zachary blanched half of the meat first. Then he added ginger slices and wild scallions and let it simmer in a big pot. The other half was used for grilled meat skewers.

When it was time to eat, no one needed to call them. The therians were already waiting nearby.

The stewed meat was soft and fell off the bone. It was tender and not dry. The warm broth spread through the body with every sip. The taste lingered in the mouth.

Zachary was ladling soup when two figures stopped in front of him. He looked up. Harper and Wesley were staring at him at the same time.

The atmosphere suddenly turned tense.

Quincy and Elias exchanged a glance. They pressed their lips together and said nothing. Yael, who had been eating happily, put down his bowl and eating sticks. He quickly signaled to Matthew with his eyes. Taylor ran over to Jaden and stared at them with caution.

Everyone in the tribe knew that Zachary used to be close to Harper’s family. Even after he became Matthew’s mate, he still listened to Harper and the others most of the time.

During the cold season, he had even given them his food. Jaden had gone out in the snow to find food because of it. He almost froze to death. If Matthew hadn’t returned from hunting in time, and if everyone hadn’t gone out to search, Jaden probably wouldn’t have survived.

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10:44 Fri,

Chapter 42 A Familiar Safe Space

Because of this, most therians in the tribe didn’t agree with Zachary’s behavior. Now that he had started to change, Harper and Wesley suddenly showed up. Everyone felt uneasy again.

Harper smiled warmly. “Zachary, I specially asked the shaman to check on you. How are you now? Feeling better?”

“I’m fine.” Zachary forced a smile.

Wesley looked doubtful. “Did you make this food?”

Zachary ignored him. Harper was still considered an elder. Wesley meant nothing.

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Transimigrated to Raise Panther Cubs