Transmigrated to Raise Panther Cubs novel Chapter 122

Chapter 122 Hunting

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The gazelle was enormous, and dead weight made it even heavier. Taylor and Jaden dragged and hauled together, barely managing to get their catch back between the two of them.

Zachary was practically vibrating with excitement up in his tree. Watching Taylor and Jaden pull off a successful hunt filled him with the particular, overwhelmingly fond pride of a parent watching their child do something extraordinary.

If Matthew hadn’t told him to stay put, he’d have scrambled down and run out to meet them without a second thought.

Matthew set down his own catch and walked quickly to the base of the tree, tilting his head back to let out a single low, rumbling sound.

Zachary climbed down immediately.

Just before his feet touched the ground, they landed on something unexpectedly soft. He turned to find

Matthew had positioned himself right below him and taken his weight on his back.

“Matthew, you looked absolutely incredible out there.” Zachary didn’t bother hiding a single drop of his admiration. He cradled Matthew’s head in both hands and praised him with genuine, unguarded

enthusiasm.

Matthew’s ears gave an involuntary little quiver, and he instinctively extended his tongue toward his mate before the sharp recollection of having just killed a gazelle made him pull back abruptly.

Zachary caught the strong, heavy scent of blood and immediately asked, “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Matthew shook his head.

Only then did Zachary notice the blood on Matthew’s face. It was from the prey, not from Matthew himself.

The fur was dark enough that it wasn’t particularly visible, but it had to be uncomfortable with all that moisture soaked into it.

He wanted to clean Matthew’s face but had nothing on him to use. He crouched down, grabbed a handful of

grass

from the ground, folded it into a rough pad, cupped Matthew’s chin in one hand, and used the grass to wipe his face clean.

Matthew pressed into Zachary’s hand and let his eyes fall half–shut.

This is wonderful. The grass is a little prickly, but still wonderful.

Jaden and Taylor dropped their catch the moment they came back and threw themselves at Zachary, their tails going in frantic circles as they pressed close and demanded acknowledgment.

They also received a grass wipe–down of their own.

Taylor watched Jaden accept the process with what appeared to be great contentment and, clearly convinced it felt amazing, enthusiastically bit a clump of grass from the ground to try it on himself.

The moment it made contact with his face, Taylor went very still and turned to look at Jaden with wide,

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Chapter 122 Hunting

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bewildered eyes.

Zachary’s affection was apparently a little scratchy.

With the day’s work finished, the black panther therians spread out across the grass, some resting, some wandering in easy circles.

Zachary simply lay down flat on his back and looked up at the open sky.

There were very few clouds, and the air had a crystalline clarity to it. He drew a long, deep breath and let the untouched beauty of the land settle over him.

Taylor and Jaden discovered a colony of prairie rodents in the grass and immediately launched themselves into an enthusiastic game of chase, delighted by every pop and scramble.

Matthew stayed in his beast form and half–sprawled at Zachary’s side, keeping a periodic eye on the cubs to make sure they didn’t wander too far.

After a little while, Taylor came bounding back on all four legs with a yellow wildflower clamped in his jaws and deposited it into Zachary’s hand with the pride of someone presenting a great treasure.

Jaden followed right behind him, his own offering a blue one.

Zachary sat up and smiled with pure, uncomplicated happiness, pulling both of them into his arms. “Thank you both. These are beautiful.”

Matthew gave his tail a slow, deliberate sweep. His expression, as always in beast form, revealed very little.

As evening drew in, the therians divided up the tasks. Some headed to the river for water, while others stacked wood and got the fire going for dinner.

Zachary tilted his head back to scan the sky and caught a small dark speck in the distance, diving at extraordinary speed.

It was too far away to see clearly. He assumed it was some kind of raptor making a strike.

Then the angle registered, and it wasn’t.

The moment Zachary understood the bird’s intent, he was already moving, running, and shouting Taylor’s and Jaden’s names at full volume while simultaneously trying to get the attention of every therian nearby.

An enormous falcon had locked onto Taylor’s back. Its hooked talons were already extended and dropping fast.

Jaden reacted in an instant and bolted with Taylor straight toward the adults.

And then the falcon changed course entirely and came for Zachary instead.

That was a terrifyingly large bird.

Zachary’s body made the decision before his mind did, and he ran.

He could feel it closing the distance fast. Its talons nearly grazed his shoulder.

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“Chapter 122 Hunting

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He swerved, shoved his hand into his pocket, and flung a full palmful of dried chili powder directly into the

falcon’s eyes.

The bird immediately lost its coordination and thrashed its head with violent, frantic shakes.

Zachary yanked the bone knife from his waist and drove it in.

The feathers were impossibly thick.

He stared at the blade tip in genuine shock. It hadn’t gone through at all.

A heartbeat later, a second falcon appeared from nowhere and struck from behind. Its talons seized his shoulders and began lifting him off the ground.

While Zachary was at ten feet above the earth, Matthew was already moving.

He drove off his back legs and launched himself upward, hitting the falcon holding Zachary with full force.

The bird staggered in the air, its body tilting sharply to one side.

Zachary stabbed the knife into its leg with everything he had.

The falcon released him with a cry of pain, and Matthew was already beneath him when he dropped.

Zachary hit Matthew’s body with a full, solid impact.

He scrambled upright immediately and looked Matthew over with urgent concern. He was well over a hundred and fifty pounds, and that kind of landing from height had to have hurt. He was afraid of internal damage.

Matthew, overwhelmed with the relief of having him back, immediately knocked Zachary flat and licked him extensively and without restraint.

A car’s tongue had a great deal of texture to it. Zachary tried to negotiate. “Matthew. That hurts.”

Matthew immediately fixed his gaze on the shoulder the falcon had grabbed and began attempting to pull Zachary’s clothing aside with his teeth.

Strangely, the falcon hadn’t put much force into the grip. Beyond a little scraped skin, Zachary’s shoulder bore no real injury.

Taylor and Jaden stood to one side with their heads hanging, convinced that Zachary’s near–abduction had been their fault. The misery radiating off both of them was palpable.

Zachary dug out two pieces of hard candy the way he had before, hoping it would work the same magic it usually did on the two of them. This time, even the candy failed.

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Transmigrated to Raise Panther Cubs