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Chapter Eight-Cleo
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2024-06-15 04:28:13Related chapters
Panther 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 Updated : 2024-06-15Panther 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 Updated : 2024-06-15Panther Chapter Eleven
After a moment of enduring the awkward silence radiating between us, I finally muster the courage to ask, "Are you angry?" My eyes flick over his blank face. It didn't look angry per se, but it certainly didn't look like the face of a man who was on a date with his mate. "No, I'm just nervous." I'm taken aback by this."Why?""Because I want to be your mate very badly, and I'm trying really hard to not mess anything up. I'm worried Carla gave you the wrong idea." I find myself smiling at the sidewalk. He wasn't angry with me; he was just nervous. I never thought I'd have an Alpha of a pack nervous over me. It made me feel... funny.We walk in silence again for a moment. It looks like we're coming up on the center of downtown. "Where are we going? And what food did you get? You don't even know what I like.""Don't worry." Is all Ike says. It's clearly too late for that. "So. Cleo." He grabs my hand again, intertwining our fingers together. I look up at him, waiting for him to continue
Last Updated : 2024-06-16Panther Chapter Twelve-Ike
How did I fuck up?She didn't act like this when we went to the bar, though she didn't look happy. And she didn't act like this when meeting Parker. She reacted well to him, I thought. I was happy she wanted to spend more time with him. And she didn't even react like this when Carla butted her obnoxious ass in.So, what happened? Why did she look like she was about to start running?"Tell me." I say, facing her now. Her face furrowed when I said that, and she finally made eye contact with me. Her heart rate was slowing down. Did she feel... guilty?"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make you worry. I was just feeling nervous too. I'm okay now." She smiled and turned around and looked okay. She really did. But when I grabbed her hand, I could feel it shaking."You can trust me." I say. I wanted her to open up to me. I wanted to explore this insane spark with her I felt. But I couldn't do it without her aid.She looks up at me with a more soft, real smile on her face. "You have no idea how
Last Updated : 2024-06-16Panther Chapter Thirteen
"Do you have any siblings? Can I know that?" She rolls her eyes at my continued questioning but has a smile on her face."I have one, a brother.""Where is he?"She shrugs, picking up her grilled cheese again. "Dunno. I haven't seen him in a very long time. I hope he's okay though.""Younger or older?""Older. By six years.""What is his name?""Charlie." She smiles at the memory of him. "He was a warrior in my old pack. I always remember thinking he was so tough.""Was he a panther?""No. I was the only one blessed with that gene." Her tone is dry and sarcastic, and she rolls her eyes."I think you look at it in the wrong light.""What?" She raises a brow at me, and I shake my head at how clear it is that she truley hates what she is."You, being a panther. You see it as such a bad thing. Why? I think it's interesting, to say the very least. I've met a couple panthers before, but never got the chance to ask them anything. I've heard panthers are different from wolves and I would love
Last Updated : 2024-06-16Panther Chapter Fourteen-Cleo
I hadn't really planned on talking about that with him, to be honest. He was just so easy to talk to. And I wanted him to understand how I was feeling. Why these things scared me. Why these things made me feel self conscious."I guess that explains some things. I truly do understand where you're coming from. It's hard to have such godly role models to try and live up to. When I took over the pack from Parker, I didn't have a ton of supporters. I was tense all the time for almost two whole years. I was nervous I was saying the wrong things and worried about what people thought of me. But finally, I realized that I had to try. I refused to be the guy who quit being the Alpha of his pack because a few people didn't like him. You have to try, Cleo.""How cliche." I say with a smirk. We're approaching his car now. I wonder if our date is done."That doesn't mean it isn't true." He shrugs, and I see him pulling his keys from his pocket. My heart sinks a little, but I keep a straight face. T
Last Updated : 2024-06-16Panther Chapter Fifteen
"I don't know what he's thinking, giving her that many clients, she'll only..." My cubicle neighbor Amanda is droning on about some new girl that the boss likes more than her, definitely because of her ass and not because she went to business school and actually shows up to work on time. We're sitting at one of the round plastic tables in the break room, both of us relaxing for a moment after eating our lunch and before returning to our desks. I'm barely listening to her though. I'm stuck on Ike's Instagram again, just like I had been since our date. "Holy shit, are you smiling?" I hear Amanda exclaim suddenly. I look away from my phone then to meet her bright blue eyes. I think for a moment. Amanda and I aren't exactly bff's, but we eat lunch together every once in a while, and sometimes go to the gym together. She was nice to me from the very beginning, showing me where the "good" coffee pods were when I first started here and telling me who not to trust in the office. She's human
Last Updated : 2024-06-16Panther Chapter Sixteen
I can't believe you got fired.I could feel my face heating up with embarrassment and shame as I shoved the small box of my personal belongings in the back seat of my car. I could feel my stomach churning with anxiety and the back of my throat burning with the threat of tears. What am I going to do? This was not how I thought my day was going to go when I woke up this morning.I collapsed into my front seat, hesitating a moment before I drove home. I pull out my phone and check my bank app. I have enough in my savings to pay my bills for the next three months. Other than that, I have the paycheck I got last week, and will have one more coming in a couple weeks. I breathe out a shaky breath. It's okay. I've got this. I've been in worse situations before.I think back to when I first decided to leave my foster family.I was seventeen, no money, no idea what I was doing. I had just bought my first car, the one I still had today. I had been saving up cash from my job I had after school as
Last Updated : 2024-06-18
Latest chapter
Panther Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Six (Ten Years Later)
"You little shit, get your ass back here." I laugh from my spot on the kitchen counter, watching Nate chase our naked child, Liam around the living room with a yellow bath towel clutched in his hand. Liam stops then, turning around to grin at his dad. He was only three, but was already extremely mobile, and had a smile just like his dad's. "Are you going to help me?" Nate sighs, glaring up at me as Liam yells and resumes running around like a mad man with his arms up in the air. I shake my head a little, pointing to where Liam is now standing on the couch. He grins at his dad, who finally swoops in and grabs him in his arms, wrapping the towel around him tightly as he does so. "Ha! Got you!" Nate declares as he wrestles Liam so he's upside down in his arms. He squeals with delight as Nate carries him like that back towards his room to put clothes on, calling him a weakling the entire time. But Liam loves it. He loves his dad, and he loves playing and "fighting" with him.I smile a
Panther Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Five-Cleo
Why is it so often when I'm waking up in the morning, I'm in pain? I groan, stretching my arms above my head and blinking away sleep. I wince as harsh daylight assaults my eyes. My head pounds, and I bring a hand up to rub at my temple."Fuck." I groan, sitting up and leaning against the bed's headboard. I look down at where Ike is facing away from me, towards the wall, hugging himself and with no blanket. Nate is on the other side, also facing away, burrioted up in the entire blanket. I fall forward and start to crawl between them to get out of the bed. I stop when I feel a hand grabbing my ankle. Nate's green eyes are already staring at me. He's rolled over and untucked himself from his blanket tomb. "You're not going to make me chase you again, are you?" I furrow my brow, sitting in a crawling position, trying to think why I would run away. "Oh." I say when I finally realize what Ike had done to Nate last night. I didn't actually see anything, but I remember one of Ike's hands
Panther Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Four
I leave Ike at the bottom of the stairs, taking Cleo into my bedroom first and laying her down gently. She starts wiggling around, smiling and rubbing all over the sheets. Weirdo. I go back for Ike, who is pulling himself up the stairs, or trying to. He's got one hand on the second step, his other on the first. "Can I help you?" I ask, bending down to wrap one of his arms around my shoulder and putting my arm around his middle. "Here we go." He mumbles as I half drag him to my bed.I let him fall onto it, barely avoiding Cleo, who has taken her leggings off finally and is laying like a starfish on the bed. I sigh. I turn and flip the light off, kicking my shoes off as I do. Off come my pants and shirt. "Move." I huff, closing Cleo's legs and scooting her to one side of the bed. "You too." Ike listens for once, but only because he wants to be Cleo's big spoon. I roll my eyes and fall into the empty space beside them.I lay on one arm, staring at the ceiling for a moment before clo
Panther Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Three
"You know what her parents told me earlier?" Ike tilts his head to stare at me. I shake my head. "They told me, that this is the last time they'll be seeing Cleo." I freeze at his words. My eyes dart around to try and find the two in question. "Don't bother looking for them. They went back to their place and are leaving first thing in the morning. They aren't even planning on saying goodbye." He shakes his head at me. "I mean, why come in the first place?" He scoffs, finishing off his drink. "Just to rub it in her face that you exist?" He's staring at Cleo, muttering to himself now really more than talking to me. "Did they say why?" I nudge him to try and get his drunk ass to focus. He kind of blinks and shakes his head before looking back to me again. "They said they couldn't stay or come visit her because of the rules of being part of The Circle," He scoffs at their title. "And that she couldn't visit them because if anyone knew they had a daughter out there they'd try and make he
Panther Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Two
My peace with Cleo is ripped away by that fuck head Thomas, who snatches Cleo away over his shoulder and yells something about loving tequila. Had he just been waiting for the perfect chance to steal her away again? "Oh my god." I rub the bridge of my nose and make eye contact with Cleo as she sits up on Thomas to grin at me like a child. I lean back and cross my arms as I watch him take her to a group of guards. "I got her!" He yells in victory. The guards cheer and whoop in excitement. "Your mates have had enough of your time!" Zach proclaims as Thomas sets Cleo down. "And besides, it's your turn to chug something!" I groan, and I'm about to rush over and stop her, but I halt when Ike and Parker walk up to me from their spot in the crowd. "I wanted to introduce you two." Ike says, stopping in front of me. I'm half sitting, half standing, midway to snatching Cleo away from the frat boys. I glance at her for a second and see her snapping the neck off a bottle of tequila. I sigh,
Panther Chapter One Hundred Ninety-One
"Why do you people insist on doing this to me?" She complains as I carry her away from her group of fans. "It's just easier than arguing with you." I reply. She makes an offended noise, struggles to sit up for a moment, and then flicks me on the back of the head. I roll my eyes, hiking my shoulder up a little into her gut and smiling at the noise she makes. I approach a table that's empty on one end and set Cleo down in a chair. "Wait here." I look her in the eye to make sure she's paying attention, and then turn to track down some water.I spot coolers near one of the tables closest to the fire and make my way through chatting and drinking people. I didn't realize how many people were a part of Ike's pack now a days until they were all converged together like this.I finally make it to the line of eight coolers and start opening them to find one not filled to the brim with liquor. Finally, I get my hands on a cold bottle of water. There was only a single cooler with them in it; ty
Panther Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Nate
Fuck that guy. Fuck him. I fucking hated him. He was fucking dick. I wanted to shove his face into the ground and rub it in. I ran through the trees, pine needles whipping at my panther's face as we escaped, past the pack's borders, further and further into the forest. My rage drives me to run for almost three hours before my panther finally stops, gasping for air and muscles aching. He finds a stream nearby and hunches over to take a long drink before we head back. What did I think was going to happen? I mean, I knew who this guy was, or at least what other's told me about him. And no one had anything good to say, not so far. They all said he was mean, and petty, and demanding as hell. He abandoned me in the woods to fend for myself when I so small, I couldn't even remember it happening. But the way he looked at me, pissed me off. Like I was scum. Like I was the one who should be begging for forgiveness. He was the asshole.But as we start running back to our pack, I can't st
Panther Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Nine
I look away from the lively party scene after a moment, back to the table behind me. "Ooo." I snatch an unopened bottle of tiny blue vodka someone had left behind. Hoped they hadn't planned on coming back for it. "Excuse you." I make a whining noise when Nate is snatching the bottle from my lips before I can chug it. "Drink this instead." I sigh at the cold bottle of water he's put in my hand. "If I must." I crack the top. "You must." He plops in a chair beside me, sighing heavily and watching me drink. "Where have you been?" I ask once I've twisted the top back on the now half empty bottle. "You've been gone a really long time." I raise by brows at him, and the corner of his lip lifts up a little."And that drove you to drink?" I laugh loudly. "No, I just felt like it was time to get drunk." "Right." He nods, eyeing me. I blink innocently at him. "Can I say something?" I blurt out as he watches me. He ticks his eyebrow. "I think your dad is a fucking chode." He shakes his hea
Panther Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Eight
"You better chug that shit!" "Come on bitch!" I jump in the air, yelling with Noah and Thomas at Zach, who was halfway through chugging an entire bottle of peach flavored vodka. "Don't be a pussy!" I punch him in the arm, a grin spread across my face. He pushes me off a little, flipping me off and continuing to guzzle the artificially flavored rubbing alcohol. "Let's go!" Thomas yells, throwing his half full beer on the ground in overly excited celebration at his friend finally reaching the neck of the bottle. Zach holds his hand up, and we all stare at him silently in eager anticipation for a moment, until he finally pulls the empty bottle away and makes a loud "ah" noise like it was a refreshing drink on a hot day. "Suck it, sluts." He slurs, grinning at us and throwing the bottle on the ground. I laugh, clapping my hands and stumbling back a little. "You thought I couldn't do it." He points his finger towards me, wiggling it a little in my face. I grin and clap him on the shou
