My Panther Mate & Our Little Cub novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98 What the Hell Happened?

Finished

What’s going on? Why am I at Matthew’s place? Did I seriously sleepwalk again? But right now, the most urgent thing is getting out from under his solid body.

But he felt like a wall. Zachary couldn’t budge him. At this point, he didn’t even care about the awkwardness. It was survival first. He shook him hard. “Matthew, wake up! Wake up!”

Matthew didn’t respond at all.

Zachary ended up ramming his head into him.

D*mn… his head is so hard.

Pain shot through him, and he winced.

“Hm?” Matthew slowly opened his eyes, only to find Zachary staring at him, tense and on edge.

He blinked, confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh, can you… Get up for a second?” Zachary nudged him. His breathing was uneven.

The moment Matthew realized the position they were in, he quickly got off him. Zachary’s small frame clearly couldn’t take that kind of pressure.

Zachary finally let out a breath of relief. He sat up and glanced around. “I… I’m sorry.”

He spoke first, guilt written all over his expression. “I think I wandered off again after I fell asleep.”

“Mm.” Matthew nodded calmly, easygoing as ever. “It’s fine.”

Zachary scramb

off the bed and hurried out, still in his tank top and shorts.

under his breath. He took his time getting

Watching him panic like that, Matthew couldn’t help but chuck dressed, looking thoroughly satisfied as he followed him out.

Jaden happened to be walking out of the cave.

The three of

gem had all slept in.

“Sire. Jaden greet

him, but the second he noticed Matthew behind Zachary, he immediately looked He was still annoyed about what happened last night.

Zachary gave a quick nod, then rushed back into the cave to get dressed properly. After that, he edge of the bed, trying to get his thoughts in order.

**

way

sat on the

This is the first time I’m actually thinking about going out to find the shaman. I can’t keep sleepwalking over to Matthew’s place every night. Good thing he doesn’t mind.

The sun was bright, the weather perfect.

Matthew stretched, then grabbed

the big wooden bucket from home and headed to the stream to fetch

water.

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Chapter 98 What the Hell Happened?

Finished

Outside the cave, Jaden crouched on a rock, sharpening his claws out of habit. He stuck his butt up in the air, scratching away with full effort.

Matthew had knocked him flat with a single kick yesterday, and he still couldn’t let it go. Quietly, he made up his mind to get stronger.

As for Zachary, nothing mattered more than eating properly.

He wanted to steam a few sweet potatoes, so he gathered some thin sticks, laid them out in a crisscross pattern, and tied them together with rope. After trimming the edges to fit the stone pot, a simple steaming rack was used.

He poured water into the pot, then placed the sweet potatoes and clucking–beast eggs on the rack.

Jaden had been running around the nearby hills with the tribe’s cubs every day, and they kept bringing back all kinds of clucking beast eggs.

Zachary crushed the lemongrass with a stone, mixed it with other spices, then poured it over the moo beast meat before tossing it into the pan to sear.

That was mostly for Matthew and Jaden. He wasn’t in the mood for anything that heavy first thing in the morning.

In the end, he grabbed a couple of tomatoes from storage and made a simple tomato–and–egg soup. Right before taking it off the heat, he sprinkled in some chopped wild onion. It smelled fresh and savory.

It was a rich, healthy meal.

He gave himself a silent nod of approval.

After breakfast, Matthew washed the dishes and took Jaden out. It was his turn today to lead with Yael, teaching the cubs how to hunt in the nearby hills.

Zachary had noticed a dull discomfort in his chest earlier while getting dressed, but he brushed it off at the time. Now, the moment the beast–hide rubbed against it, the spot throbbed with pain.

He

making hi

back into the

cave and lifted his shirt to check. Two swollen, reddened bumps stood out, raised and skin crawl with embarrassment.

Hered if’s

crawl in from had bitten him.

Living in the mountains, it wasn’t strange for neck w

time.

Seriously, what kind of messed–up bug bites someone there? That spot’s already sensitive.

or

Carefully, he peeled off his clothes, grabbed a top with a soft, fur–lined interior from the wooden rack, and pulled it on.

The chafing stopped, but now it itched instead.

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Since the weather was nice, Zachary carried all the beast hide bedding outside and spread them over rocks and tree branches, letting them dry properly in the sun.

Once that was done, he brought out the basket of persimmons he had washed and air–dried the day before.

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15:02 Fri, Jun 5 MA

Chapter 98 What the Hell Happened?

Sitting outside the cave, he soaked up the warmth while peeling them one by one.

Before long, Quincy and Elias showed up. They had heard yesterday that Zachary was making dried persimmons, so they came to help and learn how to do it.

Zachary brought out the fruit candy he made last night. Elias and Quincy each grabbed a piece. The moment they tasted it, they both nodded eagerly. “This is really good!”

Elias chewed slowly, savoring it. “I can taste the fruit, and that flavor you made last time, the one called sugar.”

“It’s called fruit candy,” Zachary said with a smile. “It’s pretty much the same method I showed you before. When you’re cooking the stingtail beast feed, you just add in the juice squeezed from the fruit and let it cook a little longer.”

“I’m gonna try it when I get back,” Elias said. His taste was a lot like the Cubs. He had a serious sweet tooth.

Quincy chimed in, “Then I’ll make some for Taylor too.”

The three of them worked quickly. By the time they finished chatting, the who

already been peeled.

basket of persimmons had

Zachary gathered the peels together, then pulled out a bundle of thin cord. He had traded for it from Avery. It was twisted from plant fibers, doubled together, and surprisingly sturdy.

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