My Panther Mate & Our Little Cub novel Chapter 64

Chapter 64 Sweet Potatoes?!

If yellow sweet potatoes were potatoes, then red sweet potatoes–didn’t that make them sweet potatoes?!

The more Zachary thought about it, the more excited he got. He started yanking up the plants twice the force.

Matthew holds his arm. “You all should just focus on picking them up.”

Zachary stood up and looked around. It was only then that he realized the therians were the ones dragging the plants forward, while the sub–therians focused on pulling the potatoes free and collecting those that were spread on the ground.

He didn’t stand still too. He happily dove in, stuffing potatoes into the beast–hide bag.

Having claws is truly useful. The black panthers lightly scratched the land, and small, round potatoes emerged along with the soil.

Soon, several stuffed bags had piled up on the ground.

The sun was positioned straight above. Matthew pulled Zachary to the side. “Is there any food remaining?”

Zachary believed Matthew was famished, so he raised his leg, unhooked the bag he’d secured to a branch, and retrieved some jerky to give to him.

Matthew pushed it back. “You just eat it.”

He didn’t recognize it until that instant, until Matthew mentioned something, Zachary discovered his stomach had been empty for a considerable time.

“Okay.” He smiled at Matthew and didn’t try to tough it out. He found a rock and sat down.

“We can split it in half and share it with each other.”

Matthew waved his head. “I’m not hungry at all.” “Chew your food slowly.”

They kept at it well into the afternoon before Zachary’s group finally finished digging up all the potatoes in

their section.

The other two groups had done just as well. The beast–hide bags were tightly packed and heavy, mounded together. One look at the pile, and all the exhaustion from half a day’s labor seemed to evaporate.

It had rained recently, so mushrooms had sprung up all over the mountain–big and plump, growing in dense clusters at the base of the trees.

After a short rest, Zachary couldn’t sit still any longer. He rolled up his sleeves and cheerfully became the “happy little mushroom picker“.

Ever since everyone had tasted how good mushrooms could be, they hadn’t stopped thinking about them.

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14:55 Fri, Jun 5

JM

Chapter 64 Sweet Potatoes?!

But no one had dared pick any on their own–poisonous varieties far outnumbered the edible ones.

With Zachary leading the way, though, everyone grew bolder. They followed close behind him, learning as they went. If anyone wasn’t sure about a specimen, they simply asked.

Harper nudged Wesley aside and approached Zachary, seeking to strengthen their rapport.

Since the fall into the water, Zachary had been cool and distant toward both Harper and Wesley–distant bordering on cold. He hadn’t sought them out, and he certainly hadn’t brought them anything.

The cold season was drawing near, and Harper’s family still depended on Zachary, so things couldn’t stay deadlocked like this.

Harper reached out with a warm smile. “Here, let me hold your bag for you.”

“No need.” Zachary stepped aside and avoided his hand, his voice flat.

Harper was completely unbothered. He dragged Wesley closer and grinned widely. “Zachary, you possess wealth of knowledge on this topic–share some insights with your brother. Which kind… oh, yes, these are referred to as mushrooms, correct?”

Zachary said nothing.

Harper pressed on anyway. “Wesley, learn from your brother. Figure out which ones are safe to eat.”

Given his arrogance, Wesley saw no point in flattering anyone and refused to play along. He crushed the mushroom in his hand with an irritated snap. “I already know.”

“These yellow ones with the long, thin stems are edible,” Zachary commented, ignoring both of them. He crouched down and pointed at the chanterelles in front of him, addressing the others gathered behind him.

Everyone leaned in and carefully studied what they looked like.

“Zachary, can you eat this one?” Elias walked over, holding a brown mushroom shaped like a closed umbrella, its surface marked with a delicate net–like pattern.

“Yeah, you can. Where did you find it?” Zachary asked with a smile.

Elias raised a hand and pointed. “Under that pile of leaves over there.”

Zachary looked where Elias pointed. Nestled beneath the damp, decaying leaves, several clusters of morels emerged from the soil.

These are excellent in soup,’ he remarked.”

Elias‘ face lit up. “Really? In that case, I’m going to look for more.”

Mushroom hunting turned out to be addictive. It wasn’t only the sub–therians who fell under the spell- even the therians hunched over, eyes darting ceaselessly across the tangled heaps of dead branches and dry

grass.

Work continued until total darkness fell. At that point, the team finally assembled, though some were hesitant to quit. Despite a few individuals wanting to forge ahead with burning branches, Donald and the rest of the group persuaded them to stay.

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Chapter 64 Sweet Potatoes?!

The stars in this world burned bright–like fragments of silver flung across open sky, sharp and dazzling.

Zachary leaned back against a tree and gazed up in silence. He couldn’t help wondering whether, somewhere among all that scattered light, one of those stars was the blue planet he had once called home.

“Has the version of me who lived there simply ceased to exist? Do my old friends ever think about me anymore?”

Quincy and Elias seemed to catch the shift in his mood. They traded a glance, then settled down on either side of Zachary, hemming him in between them.

“Zachary, what are you staring at?” Quincy said

He blinked back to the present. “The stars. They’re beautiful.”

“All that twinkling really is something.” Elias tilted his head back to look. “Do you have a thing for shiny objects, Zachary?”

Zachary smiled and nodded.

“Then, when we get home, I’ll bring you one,” Elias said.

Zachary’s eyes curved with amusement. “What, are you going to reach up and pull a star down?”

Quincy smirked. “Let him try.”

Elias laughed. “Maybe someday I’ll borrow a pair of wings from the winged folk.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Zachary said.

Quincy unwrapped a bundle of leaves and spread it open. Inside sat a mound of small, round berries, each a deep blue and roughly the size of a thumbnail.

Elias nudged Zachary with his elbow. “These little ones are pretty sweet–go on, try them.”

Zachary looked down at the berries, then up again, and found himself meeting two pairs of bright, eager

eyes.

Something warm moved through his chest, quiet and unbidden.

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