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Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Three
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2024-07-26 21:42:19Related chapters
Panther Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Four
I take a deep breath, trying to prepare myself to talk about what had happened. "He... He saved me. From Charlie, but we couldn't get away. It's why Charlie had my panther on a leash. I blacked out and probably killed a bunch of people, I don't fucking know." I laugh bitterly, shrugging and pulling my knees against my chest. "He snapped his neck right in front of me." I wipe at my eyes, jumping a little when I feel Nate's hands on my shoulders. He pulls me against him, and I let him wrap his arms around me and bury his face in my hair."What was Charlie doing that made Matt blow his cover?" Nate asks me gently. I shake my head and look down at Willow's sleeping face. All of this was my fault, and it made me feel so horribly guilty. "He was... trying to complete the mating process." I say, avoiding looking at either of my mates. "Matt stopped him and died because of it." More tears stream down my face. I guess it was a good thing I wasn't normally a crier, because I was using an enti
Last Updated : 2024-07-26Panther Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Five
Three months later..."Cleo! Are you training with us today?" I meet eyes with Thomas, who is standing in front of about fifty of our new guard members. They were all wearing shorts or leggings, standing in a line with their arms crossed over their chests, waiting for a command from one of their leaders."I'm actually looking for Nate." I call back to him across the field. The guards still trained in front of Ike and I's house, so every time I stepped off our porch one or more of them would approach me, asking me if I was training today or where I was going. It was nice to know they all wanted to learn from me, but I hadn't been doing much of anything lately to be honest, especially not fighting."I saw him headed that way a few minutes ago." I nod in thanks at Thomas, who watched me wearily as I walk off in the woods in the direction he had pointed. "Do you want someone to go with you?" He calls after me. I wave my hand dismissively, pulling the sweater I had been wearing a little ti
Last Updated : 2024-07-27Panther Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Six
It takes me almost forty minutes of trekking through the woods, but eventually I find where Nate has hidden himself away."Hey." I say with a smile as I approach the tree he's sitting in. He's on a lower down branch, leaning against its trunk and watching me walk up to him. He smiles, and swings his legs over the edge, falling down to the ground in front of me."What are you doing out here?" He asks. Before I can protest, he bends down and puts me over his shoulder like a bag of flour. He flips and shifts me a little, and I end up on his back, clinging to his neck like a monkey."I was looking for you. Ike wants to talk to us both." I rest my chin on his shoulder, watching as he walks back the way I'd just come. We were only a few yards from the border; with the number of wolves that had joined Ike's pack, it only made sense to expand his walls. His land was three times the size it had been before, and we were still building the houses to accommodate for all the new folk. There were s
Last Updated : 2024-07-27Panther Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Seven
One of the biggest thing eating away at me, was Levi.I would dream of him, lying with his neck broken at the bottom of Charlie's mansion. We never actually found him, or any trace of him. Ike didn't say much about his being gone, just that he was most definitely alive, and most likely just wanted to be alone. I wished I could see him and say I was sorry. Even though I knew how selfish, petty, and insignificant that would be. I just wanted to make myself feel better for being the reason his mate and sister was murdered."Want down?" Nate asks when we finally reach the now much bigger clearing in the trees where all the houses lived. I nod, and slide off his back, moving to stand under his arm and tuck into his side instead. We make our way across the field, nodding to the guards still in front of our houses. They were doing pushups now, with Thomas walking across their backs. I shake my head, glancing up at Nate who is also watching them."He's really grown into his role, hasn't he?"
Last Updated : 2024-07-27Panther Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Eight
I couldn't make my eyes focus on anything except the name at the bottom.Larsen Holstein.I must have been related to him. My heart is racing in my chest as I try and make sense of the very short letter Nate is still holding for me to read."Cleo?" He tests, setting the paper down in his lap and looking at my face for a reaction. "What are you thinking?" I feel Ike squeezing my hand tightly from my other side.My heart calms down a little, and I take a deep breath in and out.I was with my mates again. They could help me through this. I wasn't alone, and I didn't have to figure it out for myself. It was taking me a while to believe that again, I think."I've heard of The Circle before." I say finally, looking up at Ike, who looks confused."You have? From who?"I shake my head a little, shrugging and looking back to the paper still sitting in Nate's lap. "I don't really know. I just have this weird... memory, I guess, playing through my mind over and over again. Conversations between
Last Updated : 2024-07-27Panther Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Nine
"Why aren't we allowed to know this?" I ask after a moment of Ike just staring at me as I focus on the ground.He tsks and shakes his head. "It's not really that you're not allowed I guess, Alpha's are just discouraged from telling their packs about The Circle. We meet them when we're brought in and told if we feel our packs need to know about their existence, we can tell them about it. But that telling them of our history means the risk of anger towards humans growing in shifters. Right now, I'd say both sides are wearier of each other more than anything, and that's better than full on hating each other. That, and they think if shifters know there's a higher spot to achieve than Alpha, they'll fight to get to it. They're basically trying to avoid conflict while still keeping their fingers in the packs." That kind of makes sense, I guess. "It's not like they're going to suddenly appear and slit our throats if we so much as mention The Circle, it's just, we as a species have to deal wi
Last Updated : 2024-07-27Panther Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Ike
It was true, yes, I've been very busy since taking over control of Charlie's pack.Since Matt is gone, I've had to actually go through the trouble of ironing out every single little detail that had to do with the merging of the two packs. I can't lie, I hadn't realized quite how much of the technical work for the pack he took care of. Paperwork, licenses, permits, permission to run more water lines. I'd never had to deal with it until now, and it was a lot.I'd had to deal with expanding my borders, which is how The Circle even knew what had happened. That was one of the things you had to ask their permission for, and I had to tell them why I was doing it.What was an even bigger headache than that, was obtaining all the supplies for building the new houses. Money wasn't an issue, my previous Alpha, Parker, was still the main beneficiary for this pack, and he had his fingers deep in the alcohol industry, which evidently paid well. He was constantly nagging me to take over his role so
Last Updated : 2024-07-27Panther Chapter One Hundred Sixty-One
"Cleo?" I walk up slowly behind her. I feel an ache in my chest when her whole body tenses at my hand resting on her shoulder. Why, Cleo, why? Why are you so cautious around me? "Why do I feel like you're upset with me?" I ask carefully. She gives me a bitter laugh and a head shake before walking towards the kitchen away from me."Why would I be upset with you, Ike? You're the reason I was saved from Charlie. You've been nothing but good to me." I watch as she grabs the kettle off the stove and starts filling it with water to keep her attention focused away from me.My heart aches in my chest. "And yet I've spent almost every night since alone." I feel sadness rolling off of her. I feel guilty for making her feel this way, but I can't keep avoiding this conversation. It'll tear us apart if I do. I walk up closer to her, slowly, like I'm approaching a wild animal. "Tell me, Cleo, what have I done to make you resent me so much?"She sighs, and sets the kettle down in the sink, leaning a
Last Updated : 2024-07-27
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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
