Panther

Panther

last updateLast Updated : 2024-08-01
By:  L.A.BCompleted
Language: English
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Cleo has been going it alone since she was a teenager, perfectly content with her solitary lifestyle. Until she starts meeting her mates, that is. While two of them are what every shifter dreams of when thinking of their destined soulmate, the third has far more nefarious plans for her than character building and going on dates together. Every day is something unknown and new to Cleo, making new friends, learning about who she really is and where she came from. But just like Cleo has never gotten to experience what it's like to have a group of shifters around her that care for her, she's also never had to feel what it's like to watch someone you truly love die. How will a shapeshifting panther with bodies under her belt deal with the tragedies she's about to be put through? Only one way to find out.

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Chapter 1

Chapter One

I stepped outside my apartment door, my eyes scanning the area in front of me.

It wasn't even six o'clock in the morning yet, so it was still dark and quiet outside. The world wasn't ready to be awake yet.

I turned and locked my front door behind me, inhaling the wet morning air. It had just turned October, and already I can feel winter creeping in. I loved it.

I secured my key into the front of my sports bra and began walking to the sidewalk that lined the streets in front of my apartment complex. It was one of four at the end of the neighborhood street I lived on. All four were at the end of the road, two on one side of the street, two on the other. All built with dark brown brick with green accents on the trim and window shutters. There were five units in each building, but as far as I could tell more were empty than occupied. 

Once I had reached the edge of the road, I took a deep breath and began jogging, leaving my home behind. I could feel my bones popping, my muscles coming alive with the movement. The goosebumps slowly vanished from my skin as I grew warmer, my cheeks growing pink and sweat forming on the back of my neck.

I pushed my legs, focusing on my route as I turned right at the end of the street. The sound of my shoes slapping on the pavement and my heavy breath sounded extremely loud in contrast to the silent morning.

I ran for almost forty-five minutes before I even began to turn around and head home. My body craved more; it was pouting that we were wrapping up. But I needed to get ready for work.

My morning routine is pretty much the same every day, five days a week.

I would run for at least an hour or go to the gym or quite literally do anything physical before I had to be stuck at work for the next eight hours. I'd take a shower, put on boring grown up clothes, and go answer phones. At a desk. Saying the same script. Every day. Just like I had been doing for the past two years.

But I turned my back on my old life, walked away, banished myself. I couldn't go back.

"Hello, Mr. Turner? This is Cleo Fuller with AutoSure. I was looking at your account and noticed you haven't yet made your monthly payment. Would you like to make that now?" My voice sounded too high, too cheery. Definitely fake to my ears. But pleasant and friendly to customers.

"Oh well, I definitely made that payment." I rolled my eyes. Everyone has definitely made it, or we lost it, or the bank did something wrong, or yada yada. It's not my job to care, it's my job to get your money.

When I first got this gig, I told myself I wouldn't be here longer than six months. I told myself that this was just to keep myself alive while I looked for where I actually wanted to work.

Unfortunately, I had no education. No experience. Nothing. Hell, the only reason I even had a driver's license and social security number was because I knew someone from my youth with a few good connections. So, I got stuck after I was rejected for better jobs time and time again. I had to keep a low profile to stay off the world's radar, and a call center is as low profile as it gets.

Either way, it was this, or fast food. And this paid enough for all my bills, groceries, and even some money left over to save. A little, at least.

I began feeling antsy, bickering back and forth with this old man. I just wanted him to give me his debit card number so I could get up and move. I could feel my muscles tensing up with the desire.

It's funny, most people just thought I had ADHD, and I always just went with that. It was kind of a perfect cover up for why I was really such a nervous uncomfortable wreck all the time. I hadn't even had to come up with it.

"Look sir, maybe the system just hasn't gotten it yet. How about I call you back at this time tomorrow and we'll see if it's gone through yet, okay?" He grunts out okay and hangs up the phone with a loud click.

But his rudeness doesn't bother me, I badly wanted to get off the phone with him.

I almost literally leap out of my chair, walking as quickly as I can down the carpeted walkway between my co-workers' cubicles. I shoot a tight smile at a couple people I pass pay, avoiding hesitating so they wouldn't think I was available for office chit chat. I clench my fists tightly as I slip out our office's door and speed walk down the long corridor towards the stairwell. 

"Come on." I grit as I push through the metal door and quickly start making my way down the concrete steps to the first floor. I had been trying not to draw too much attention to myself, but I can feel my insides clawing at my skin to get out and it makes it hard to be conspicuous. I don't know how much longer I can control myself.

Lately I've been feeling like this more and more often. I can't help but worry that it means something, and that makes me more antsy which makes me worry more. It means it's time to let me the fuck out.

Finally, I reach the bottom of the stairs and my eyes land on the double metal doors that lead to the back of the coworking space my job was located in. I burst through them a little too loudly, drawing the startled gazes of a couple people smoking at the back stoop.

But I don't care.

I can see my car, and I need to get to it.

I walk as fast as I can without running full on. I can still feel the eyes of the smokers on my back, and while I don't mind people thinking I'm a bit odd, but I don't need that kind of attention from my coworkers. The parking lot is less than the size of a football field, but it still feels like it takes an eternity to cross it.

I'm finally able to pry open the door handle to my white sedan and scramble inside its cold interior. I sit down in the driver's seat, placing my head on the steering wheel and trying to calm my breathing down. I can feel my entire body shaking and my heart racing.

I shut my eyes as my vision starts to become hyper focused, pushing my own instincts down inside my stomach. No. No. NO. I chant in my head, clenching my steering wheel.

I almost can't hold it back.

I actually almost lost this battle for the first time in almost four months.

But slowly, my breathing slows down and I can feel my heart begin to calm down. I open my eyes and look up from the steering wheel, and the world is gray and unfocused again. I sigh, looking down at my hands.

I clenched the thing so hard that my handprints are now sunken into the wheel.

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196 Chapters
Chapter One
I stepped outside my apartment door, my eyes scanning the area in front of me.It wasn't even six o'clock in the morning yet, so it was still dark and quiet outside. The world wasn't ready to be awake yet.I turned and locked my front door behind me, inhaling the wet morning air. It had just turned October, and already I can feel winter creeping in. I loved it.I secured my key into the front of my sports bra and began walking to the sidewalk that lined the streets in front of my apartment complex. It was one of four at the end of the neighborhood street I lived on. All four were at the end of the road, two on one side of the street, two on the other. All built with dark brown brick with green accents on the trim and window shutters. There were five units in each building, but as far as I could tell more were empty than occupied. Once I had reached the edge of the road, I took a deep breath and began jogging, leaving my home behind. I could feel my bones popping, my muscles coming al
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-03
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Chapter Two
After my episode at work I came to a conclusion.I needed to change tonight. I could keep pretending everything was fine as much as I wanted, but the other part of me was fighting for control inside my body and mind. It was getting harder and harder to tell it no.Today was a really close call. I didn't like feeling so out of control.I would rather change of my own free will, in a safe environment that I pick on my own. Plus, I think I might be acting so extra spazzy lately because it's been so long since I last gave in. No shit.I decided to drive out to one of the many state parks in my town on Friday after I got off work. I couldn't help moving somewhere surrounded by nature, so there were more than a few options for places to be alone in nature for a few hours. I may push down my instincts on a daily basis, but there are some things I just can't change about myself, and enjoying solitude surrounded by nature was one of those things.The drive there all I could think about was th
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-03
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Chapter Three
Oh shit, oh shit. This is it. We're busted.I hear my panther growl, and shove me down to the back of her mind. She wants to focus, wants full control. I'm okay with it, I wouldn't know what to do in this situation anyways.Just as I'm wondering if they're normal wolves, or if they're like me, one of them begins to tremble. I feel my heart clenching as I realize he's changing. I had been hoping they were normal wolves.Soon, the once medium sized, dirty blonde wolf is a naked man standing up from the forest floor. He's tall, well over six feet. He's definitely a pack warrior; he's thick in the arms and looks like he could take on a tank."Hello." He says. His voice is soft, but firm. Like he's trying not to scare us but seem dominant at the same time. It doesn't work. "You're not just a panther." He says it as a statement, as opposed to a question. They already know I'm not just a normal woodland creature.My panther begins moving to stand in front of her kill. She knows they're proba
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-03
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Chapter Four
Despite my first instinct to wrap my arms around his tall frame and kiss his yummy looking lips, I stay where I am. Perfectly still. Watching him."I haven't seen a panther in these woods in a while." He says, his eyes roaming over my naked body. Unlike the rest of us, he's wearing clothes. I wish he weren't, and not just so I can get a show. I feel vulnerable, exposed. Which, I guess I was."I didn't know they belonged to anyone." I say, taking my time before speaking to make sure my voice was strong and unwavering. I would not show him how much he was affecting me. How I was currently daydreaming of how his large, rough looking hands would feel wrapped around my throat...Pay attention, Cleo.I nod to myself, knowing my panther is right. I'm in a potentially dangerous situation, certainly an unknown one, and it's up to me how this will go. My eyes drifted away from Ike, much to my panther's dismay, and over to Matt. His eyes were flickering between his Alpha and me, sizing the situa
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-03
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Chapter Five
What the fuck am I doing?I ask myself this question for quite literally the hundredth time as I drive down the slightly familiar road that leads me to Ike's territory.I didn't want a mate.Rejection is an option.I was taught it hurts, hurts worse than any pain imaginable.But if I can rip this band aid off and be done with it, then I can heal faster. And since we can barely even say we know each other, there will be no loose ends to tie up. I can just, disappear, if I needed to. I can get back to my life, to how things used to be. You know you weren't happy before. Alone. No... maybe not. But I'm certainly not enjoying my existence any more now.And besides.I'm doing him a favor.Why in the fuck would an Alpha want a panther as a mate? I'm damaged goods.My heart feels like it's going to explode with excitement as I pull into the state park's gravel parking lot. Tiny rocks crunch under my car's tires as I come to a stop, put my car in park, and turn it off. I sit there for a mome
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-03
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Chapter Six
I wasn't having a good time right now. Everyone is looking at us, but mostly me. I'm one hundred percent sure that the second we walk into Ike's house, the pack will immediately begin pooling together whatever info they have on me. Or think they have.As we stepped onto Ike's porch, I felt someone's eyes boring into the back of my skull. I looked over my shoulder and made eye contact with a girl, looking o be around my age. Normal height, skinny with a bony chest. She had straight black hair and mean grey eyes. She was looking at me like I had just fed her a shit pie. I sniffed the air once, narrowed my eyes at her, and scrunched up my nose in disgust. Her face flushed with anger at my childish insult. I let her see me smile before I turned around and followed Ike. I don't know what her deal is but it's obvious she already has a thing for me. I don't care about your bullshit. If I don't even know why you hate me, it must not be that important. I'm so absorbed in mulling over what just
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-15
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Chapter Seven-Ike
Wow.Just.Wow.I had moved to sit on the couch where Cleo had been sitting. It was still warm and smelled like sunscreen and honey. I felt kind of creepy, sitting there with my eyes closed, breathing in her scent that lingered around the room. But I couldn't help myself. She just smelled so fucking good.Oh god, was she beautiful.Soft, wavy brown hair that fell down her back. Wide, almond shaped, burnt orange eyes surrounded by thick dark lashes. She wore no makeup, exposing cinnamon colored freckles that littered her face. I loved the way her lips were shaped, the top was a little thinner, with a defined shape, the bottom was thicker and begging to be bitten.I would murder to get my hands on her body. She was shorter and thick, her body curvy everywhere I wanted it to be. She held her chin high in the air, like she was ready to take on an entire army. She also obviously had a thing with eye contact, because she seemed a little salty that I made her look away first.I closed my eye
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-15
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Chapter Eight-Cleo
Oh my lord.He's friend requested me. And follow requested me.I'm a grown ass woman, currently laying on my bed, grinning from ear to ear, because a guy wants to follow me on Instagram. You're in trouble. My panther teases as I scroll through the pictures on his Instagram profile. He mostly has pictures of nature, but there's a couple of selfies and a good shirtless picture of him. I stare at that one for a moment too long.That night I slept soundly for the first time in weeks. And my morning jog actually refreshed me like it was supposed to rather than wearing me out like it had been doing the past couple of weeks. I felt normal again and that made me happy. Because Ike makes you happy?"Shut it." I say as I brush through my hair in the mirror. I didn't look like I had been out drinking all night for once. My eyes looked clear and fresh, my skin looked soft and healthy. While I was feeling happier right now, it also annoyed me a little how much the mate bond affects us. I mean, I d
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-15
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Chapter Nine
I can't fucking do this.I had pulled into the state park parking lot at six forty-two. I caught almost every red light on my way out of town, of course. Ike had been standing outside, leaning against his big black SUV with his arms crossed, staring off into the forest with an annoyed expression on his face.He hadn't even said anything when I got out of my car, just walked to the passenger side and opened the door for me. He's shot me a half smile when we made eye contact, but honestly, I didn't know him well enough yet to be able to read him. I couldn't even tell if it was a real smile or a forced one.Now we were just sitting here, him driving silently. I sneaked a side glance at him. He didn't look mad... I guess. He just had a blank expression, staring at the road."So, uh... how are you doing?" I asked carefully. He didn't say anything for so long that I had begun to think he wasn't going to respond.Finally, he sighs and says, "I'm sorry. I'm worried about pack stuff, I guess.
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-15
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Chapter Ten
The man I was currently staring at had all the telltale signs of being an Alpha. I didn't know for sure, but assumed it was the friend Ike was talking about before. He was tall and strong looking, with piercing grey eyes. He had a "no bullshit" look about him. Physically, he looked to be in his fifties, with salt and pepper hair accompanied with a matching beard. Knowing how wolves aged though, he was probably... hundred eighty? Two hundred, tops. They stopped aging somewhere in their twenties, then start back up when they get to be around a hundred. Then they loosely age a year physically for every actual ten. It's a rough math, and has been known to vary, but it's a good base to go off of when trying to judge a wolves actual age."It's good to finally see you again, shit head." I watched in awe as the man walked to Ike and ruffled his hair. I would be willing to bet he's the only one allowed to touch Ike like that. I can't see him being okay with a random pack member coming up and d
last updateLast Updated : 2024-06-15
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