The Panther Cub's Masterplan

Postdivorce reality hit hard. It started with a text from Levi’s teacher. [Language Arts: 11. Math: 9.] [Ms.

Nora, is that the price for the new workbooks?] [Those are Levi’s test scores.] […Thanks for your patience, Ms.

Nora.] The doorbell chimed, cutting through the quiet of my new apartment. I twisted the deadbolt and pulled the door open.

My son stood on the porch, barricaded behind a mountain of duffel bags. He crossed his arms, fixing me with a dark glare. "Hazel. I can't eat. I can't drink my milk.

I can't even focus on school without you. Just because you divorced Dad doesn't mean you get to ghost me.

What, did you just birth me and dip?" Cold sweat pricked the back of my neck. I grabbed the collar of his jacket, yanked him into the entryway, and slammed the door shut.

Levi reached up and pulled off his beanie. Two fuzzy, jetblack panther ears popped loose, twitching in the still air. He shrugged. "Of course he knows.

We beastmen track scents, remember?" He looked up at me, his eyes deadpan. "Plus, Dad's rut is about to hit." Chapter 1 Kade fell for me at first sight.

Back then, he ticked every single box of my teenage fantasy.

Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, old money dripping from his family name, and a jawline that looked handcarved by God in the morning light. On our wedding night, Kade’s rut hit.

He pinned me to the mattress, and my brain shortcircuited into pure, static white. The heavy oak bedframe collapsing under us, my legs turning to jelly—that became the baseline.

Once I got pregnant with Levi, the heat in Kade’s eyes shifted. It grew darker. Heavier.

I felt the constant prickle on the back of my neck, the undeniable sensation of being stalked in the dark. I knew he was holding back. Then came the full moon.

I walked in to find him fully shifted. A massive black panther.

His rut demanded a release he wasn't getting, his eyes glowing bloodred as his claws shredded our silk sheets into confetti. The air vanished from the room.

My vision tunneled into black, and my knees gave out. The sheer shock sent me into premature labor.

Kade sat by my hospital bed, his grip on my hand tight enough to leave bruises as the muscles in his jaw ticked. "No more. We're never doing this again.

I'll make it up to you, to both of you." I turned my face to the blank wall, keeping my mouth shut. The gears were already turning.

The image of that monstrous beast was seared onto the back of my eyelids. Later that night, while Kade slept, I slipped out of bed.

My bare feet barely made a sound against the hospital linoleum as I crept toward the nursery, ready to scoop Levi up and vanish. I leaned over the plastic bassinet.

My stomach dropped into my shoes. Curled up under the baby blanket wasn't a human infant. It was a fuzzy, purring panther cub. I stopped breathing. My muscles braced to bolt.

Before I could pivot, two heavy arms clamped around my waist from behind. A solid chest pressed against my back.

Kade rested his chin heavily on my shoulder. "You know." I swallowed the lump of sandpaper in my throat. "Don't… don't kill me." My spine was a rod of ice.

Kade's lips brushed the sensitive skin of my cheek. "Don't be afraid. It's just biology. Beastmen only mate once. How could I ever hurt you?" A sharp wail broke from the bassinet.

I flinched, snapping my gaze down. The cub was gone. In its place was a tiny, redfaced human baby, kicking his legs and screaming for milk.

Kade's breath was hot against my ear. "Hazel. Our son needs you." Something in my chest cracked. I reached in and picked Levi up.

I made a silent vow right there: the second he was weaned, I was gone. But I overestimated my own pain tolerance. A beastman infant is a nightmare.

Those needlesharp fangs practically tore me open. Kade snatched him out of my arms, a muscle twitching wildly in his neck. "Formula is fine. He's not that fragile.

Get some sleep." He turned his back on me. The door clicked shut. Ten seconds later, a low, guttural roar vibrated through the floorboards.

A teething cub and a father hitting his rut. The two panthers tore through the first floor like a wrecking ball.

I pulled the duvet up to my chin, gripping the fabric until my knuckles turned white, too terrified to exhale. I slid the divorce papers across the mahogany desk.

Kade stared at the printed words, the sharp lines of his face hardening into stone. "Is this really happening?" I kept my eyes glued to the floor. "…Please." "Fine." The scratch of his pen against the paper was the loudest sound in the room.

I packed my bags and walked out of the estate. I left Levi with Kade. Not that I vanished without a trace. I spent years lurking in the shadows.

From preK dropoffs to elementary school assemblies, I watched him grow up from a distance. Until his teacher finally caught me hovering in the hallway.

She narrowed her eyes. "Can I help you?" I straightened my posture. "I'm Levi's mother." Ms. Nora blinked, then pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Let's exchange numbers, then.

Look, I'm just going to say it. Even if you parents are divorced, you can't just ignore your child's mental health." Chapter 2 Ms. Nora started texting me video updates of Levi.

He definitely wasn't like the other kids. While the rest of the class ran wild on the playground, he stayed glued to the shadowy corners.

Textbook childhood neglect, according to every psychology blog out there. Then came another message from Ms. Nora. [Language Arts: 11. Math: 9.] [Ms.

Nora, is that the price for the new workbooks?] [Those are Levi’s test scores.] […Thanks for your patience, Ms. Nora.] My temples immediately started throbbing.

Leaving my kid with Kade might have been a massive mistake after all. The doorbell chimed.

I pulled the door open, and there was Levi, barricaded behind a mountain of duffel bags. "Hazel," he snapped. "I can't eat. I can't drink my milk.

I can't even focus on school without you. Just because you divorced Dad doesn't mean you get to ghost me.

What, did you just birth me and dip?" Cold sweat pricked the back of my neck.

I grabbed his jacket and yanked him inside. "Your dad doesn't know I'm here, right?" Postdivorce, Kade tracked me down every single time his rut hit.

And every single time, the bedframe ended up splintered into kindling.

He'd wake up, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm, and toss a gold Amex onto the nightstand. "Buy a better bed.

Don't cheap out on it." Staring at his deadpan expression, I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper. "What are we even doing? We're divorced.

Can't you just let me go?" Kade leaned down, the heavy scent of his pheromones trapping the air in my lungs, and pressed a claiming kiss to my lips. "Logic tells me to let you walk." He grabbed my wrist, forcing my palm flat against the solid, burning wall of his chest. "But instinct doesn't give a damn.

As long as this heart is beating, I can't erase you." The second the front door clicked shut behind him that day, I heard his voice drift through the crack in the window.

He was on his phone. "So what if our genetic compatibility is a hundred percent? I don't love her." My feet rooted to the hardwood floor. A bucket of ice water washed down my spine.

The reality was finally crystal clear. He wouldn't kill me, sure, but I was nothing more than a glorified pacifier. A biological match to soothe his rut.

That was the only reason he ever put a ring on my finger. And like an idiot, I actually thought he gave a damn about me. I listed the house the next morning.

I packed my life into boxes, crossed state lines, and started over. I finally ghosted Kade. I just never expected Levi to track me down himself. "I asked you a question.

Does your dad know I'm here?" Levi pulled off his beanie. Two fuzzy panther ears twitched. "Of course he knows.

We beastmen track scents, remember?" He gave me a deadpan look. "Plus, Dad's rut is about to hit." The oxygen vanished from the room.

I grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the front door. "You can't stay here. Go back to your dad." "Are you crazy?

I'm not going near him when he's in a rut." Levi looked up, his fluffy black ears drooping flat against his head. "I'm your son, aren't I? Do you seriously not care about me at all?

You're kicking me out now?" My throat locked up. Ms. Nora’s lecture echoed in my ears. Slowly, I released my grip on his jacket. "Ground rules first.

You listen to me." "I'm an angel. I'll even do my homework." He batted his huge eyes at me.

With that kind of manipulation tactic, I almost forgot the kid scored single digits on his math test. Levi cracked open his workbook, staring hard at the first page.

I leaned over his shoulder, checking the problem. "What's wrong? What's one plus one?" "Three." My vision blurred. "One plus one is three?

Who taught you that?" "You and Dad got together and made me. Isn't that one plus one equals three?" I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes. "That's biology, kid.

Math is a different ballgame. In math, one plus one equals two…" Chapter 3 He gave me a blank stare.

I took a deep breath and tried another angle. "Okay, tell me how your teacher explained it." "…I don't know." "Did you sign a nondisclosure agreement with the school?

How do you know nothing?" Growing up, I thought surviving my own education was the hard part. Plot twist: helping a kid with their homework is the actual trench warfare.

Seeing my absolute defeat, the corner of Levi's mouth ticked up. The smirk was a carbon copy of his father's. "How about we call Dad?

He usually does my homework with me." I slammed both hands on the table. "Absolutely not." If Kade stepped foot in here, my hardwon freedom was officially dead. "I can tutor you.

Keep writing." By the time we finished the worksheet, I felt like I'd run a marathon through wet cement. Compulsory education was torturing me for a second round.

As a mom, I was clearly operating way above my pay grade. Dingdong. The doorbell chimed, and every drop of blood in my veins turned to ice.

Levi looked up from his notebook. "I ordered fried chicken. I'm starving." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Keep working.

I'll grab it." I pulled the front door open. A rush of cold, terrifyingly familiar air swept over me, stirring the loose hair at my collarbone. I jerked my head up.

My hand slammed against the wood to shut it, but I was a second too late. A heavy, muscular arm braced against the doorframe. Kade.

His dark, consuming gaze pinned me to the floor. "You don't need to hide from me.

I'm just here for Levi." It had been months, but the sheer, suffocating gravity of him hadn't faded an ounce.

My throat worked, trying to form words, but the elevator doors dinged down the hall. A delivery guy stepped out. "Unit 1904?

Delivery." Once the guy handed over the greasy paper bag and left, Kade's eyes dropped to the food.

The sharp line of his jaw tightened. "You're feeding him this?" "He ordered it himself." I turned sideways, pressing my back against the wall to give him a wide berth. "He's in the study.

Perfect timing, actually. You can take him home." Kade paused in the entryway for a single, heavy second before striding in. "Levi.

We're going home." Levi gripped the edge of the desk like his life depended on it. "No!

I'm staying with Mom." Kade’s voice was smooth, stripped of his usual commanding edge. "Behave. Stop bothering your mother.

She has her own life now." "But I can't study without her! I can't even eat!" "That sounds like a you problem. Your mother is starting over.

We can't be the obstacles keeping her from true happiness." Wait. Hold up. I blinked. Since when did I become the wicked villain who abandoned her loving family? "I'm not leaving!

Let go of me!" A loud wail echoed from the study.

Kade walked out, a struggling Levi tucked under his arm like a football. "Apologies for the inconvenience," Kade said, his face impassive. "I'll take him off your hands right now.

We won't disturb you again." Levi was crying so hard he lost control of his form.

A fuzzy, pitchblack panther cub was thrashing wildly against Kade’s chest, swiping its tiny paws in the air. Okay, fine. It was undeniably cute.

The tight knot in my chest loosened. I stepped in front of Kade, blocking the door. "Forget it.

Let him stay with me for a while." Without missing a beat, Kade shoved the struggling cub directly into my arms. "Then it's settled." Wait, what?

I stood there, staring down at the furball in my arms. The cub blinked up at me, giving me a wide, toothy grin. Did I just get played?

Chapter 4 It took exactly twentyfour hours to regret caving. The next morning hit like a freight train.

Not only did I have to clock in for my shift, but I was suddenly on school dropoff duty. Obviously, rolling with me meant no tintedwindow chauffeured SUVs.

Levi didn't seem to care. He perched on the back of my beatup ebike, chattering a mile a minute over the wind. "We have Family Field Day tomorrow.

Are you coming?" "Tell your dad to go. I have to work." Levi’s head drooped, his chin bumping my shoulder. "But Ms. Nora said both parents need to be there. It's fine, though.

You're busy. I'll just let the other kids make fun of me for not having a mom…" A vein pulsed at my temple. That pathetic, kickedpuppy act was my absolute kryptonite.

I pulled in a sharp breath of exhausttinged air. "What time tomorrow?" Levi’s head snapped up. His eyes practically glowed, a tiny, sharp fang flashing in a massive grin. "Nine AM!

I'll tell Dad to pick us up so we can ride together!" It was our first official reunion as a family of three.

Kade showed up in minimalist white athletic wear that did nothing to hide the lean, heavy muscle packed onto his frame.

Standing in a sea of exhausted suburban parents, he looked like an apex predator crashing a petting zoo. Impossible to ignore.

Levi practically vibrated with energy, his small hands gripping Kade's and mine like a vise. The main event was a family relay race. Levi took the first leg. The kid was a beastman.

His explosive speed off the starting line left the regular kindergarteners eating his dust. He thrust the plastic baton into my hand. "Go, Mom! Go!" The adrenaline hit.

I gripped the baton and took off toward Kade, who was holding down the anchor position. But adrenaline doesn't make up for a complete lack of cardio.

Within seconds, a couple of competitive soccer moms blew right past me. My lungs burned. I locked eyes with Kade.

He stood perfectly still at the exchange zone, giving me a single, grounding nod. It worked like a shot of pure oxygen.

I slammed the baton into his waiting palm and immediately doubled over, hands braced on my knees, fighting for air. The crowd erupted. I snapped my head up.

Kade tore down the track, eating up the distance with terrifying, predatory strides.

He cleared the final hurdle with inches to spare and casually crossed the finish line in first place. Levi’s jaw unhinged. "Whoa!

Dad crushed it!" Seeing that massive, unfiltered smile on my kid's face tugged the corners of my own mouth up. Ms.

Nora appeared beside me, clapping politely. "It's been a long time since I've seen Levi smile like that.

A healthy, harmonious family dynamic is truly the foundation." I kept my mouth shut. Kade dipped his head. "You're absolutely right, Ms. Nora.

We plan to set a much better example from now on." Down on the field, Levi stood centerstage on the plastic podium. He waved his blue ribbon wildly in the air. "Dad! Mom!

We won!" At lunch, Levi sat across the restaurant booth, staring at us with wide, expectant eyes. "Are you guys back together?

Am I dreaming?" Before my brain could formulate a denial, Kade’s heavy arm draped over my shoulders, pulling me flush against his side. "Yeah.

We're back together." Every muscle in my back locked. I braced to elbow him in the ribs, but Ms. Nora’s lecture echoed in my skull.

I swallowed the urge and forced myself to stay still. Levi narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying it. He launched his counterattack. "Really?

You're not just playing me?" He pointed a french fry at us. "Prove it.

Kiss her." Silence stretched. "Don't pretend you didn't hear me." My nails dug into my palms until the knuckles turned stark white. My skin burned under the fluorescent lights.

Kade didn't hesitate. His hand slid to the back of my neck, his thumb pressing right over my racing pulse, and he tilted his head.

His lips crushed against mine in a hot, claiming kiss. My brain flatlined. I shoved both hands against his solid chest, breaking the contact.

Kade just let out a low, rough laugh, his eyes dark and entirely too focused on my mouth. "Don't be shy.

He's our kid." Levi vaulted out of the booth, throwing his hands in the air. "Best day of my life!" Chapter 5 Levi was so hyped he housed a second bowl of rice at dinner.

Kade drove us back to my apartment and laid a fastasleep Levi gently onto the guest bed.

I stood in the doorway, blocking his exit. "It's late," I said, keeping my voice low. "Time for you to go." "I'm staying." My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" Kade nudged me out into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind us. "You heard Ms.

Nora. Levi needs a stable family environment right now." He leaned back against the wall. "It's not that I'm dying to crash here.

But if he wakes up tomorrow and I'm gone, what goes through his head?" "He'll think his parents are liars. That the whole happy family routine was just a sick performance.

If we're going to put on a show, we might as well commit to the bit." I opened my mouth to argue, but Kade pressed a single, calloused index finger over my lips. "For the kid." For the kid.

That was the ultimate trump card. I carried that boy for nine months; I couldn't just turn a blind eye to the literal psychological damage he was dealing with.

I took a step back. "Fine. You can stay.

But we have ground rules." Kade crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's hear them." "You don't step foot in my bedroom—" "Not happening." He caught the immediate flare in my eyes and arched an eyebrow. "What happily married couple sleeps in separate rooms?

You think Levi won't see right through that?" I threw my hands up in defeat. "Fine. I get the bed. You take the floor." "Deal." "Swear to it.

No sneaking into my bed, no shifting, and absolutely zero touching when your rut hits." "I swear." Sometime after midnight, a low, ragged sound dragged me out of my sleep.

The bedroom was pitch black, save for a thin slice of moonlight cutting through the blinds. It illuminated the terrifyingly rigid lines of Kade’s back right next to the bed.

A single bead of sweat traced the deep groove of his spine, vanishing into the waistband of his sweatpants.

His breathing was heavy, fractured, the thick muscles across his shoulders bunching and shifting under his skin like living things.

I pushed myself up against the headboard. "Why are you still awake?" Kade slowly turned his head.

His pupils had blown out, swallowing the iris entirely before snapping into thin, dangerous slits—the deadcenter focus of an apex predator locking onto a meal. My stomach dropped.

The rut. He braced both hands on the edge of the mattress. Slowly, methodically, he crawled onto the bed.

A thick, plush panther tail swept over the bare skin of my legs beneath my nightgown, barely brushing, sending a jolt of pure static up my spine.

His breath was a furnace against the sensitive skin of my neck. "Hazel…" His voice was destroyed, thick with a dark, primal desperation that made my pulse pound in my throat.

The sheer, suffocating heat pouring off his body was practically scorching the air between us.

I forced my hand up, my fingertips trembling slightly as they brushed his forehead. "…You're burning up. I'll get the meds." I shifted to roll out of bed.

His fingers clamped around my wrist like a vice. "Pills won't fix this." He pulled me back. "Only you." The shadow swallowed me whole.

His mouth crushed over mine, heavy and demanding, dragging me down into a chaotic, blistering heat that stole every ounce of oxygen from my lungs. My spine locked tight.

My nails dug savagely into the cotton sheets. Just hours ago, he was a wall of cold indifference.

Now, blinded by his biology, he was burying his face in my neck, begging for my touch. None of it was real. I was just the designated human pacifier.

I shoved hard against his chest, breaking his frantic hold.

I slid open the nightstand drawer, yanked out the silicone adult toy I'd bought specifically for this disaster, and tossed it dead center onto the mattress between us.

I came prepared. Chapter 6 Kade stared dead at the neonpink silicone toy. The bloodred glow in his eyes flared dangerously.

I stammered, backing up an inch. "If you can't hold it back, just use that. It's anatomically correct.

It even has a warming feature…" "Hazel, you…" The muscle in his jaw ticked so hard I thought he'd snap his own teeth.

I braced myself, fully expecting him to lunge across the mattress and crush my skull. He didn't.

His massive hand closed around the expensive silicone toy, squeezing until it literally snapped in half with a grotesque pop. "I don't need it." "I had a receipt!

If you didn't like it, I could've returned it. That thing wasn't cheap." Kade threw himself backward.

A sickening crack of expanding bone echoed through the room as his tshirt shredded into white ribbons beneath the sudden, explosive surge of muscle.

Sleek, pitchblack fur erupted from under his skin, swallowing him whole. The sharp lines of his face warped, giving way to the raw, lethal structure of an apex predator.

He dropped heavily to his hands and knees, his arched spine heaving as he fought for air.

For one fractured second, those glowing red eyes locked onto mine—heavy, desperate, entirely consumed. Then, he launched himself. The glass shattered.

He cleared the window frame in a single, terrifying bound, vanishing into the night. Cold wind whipped the curtains around me. The bedroom fell silent.

The only sound left was my own ragged breathing. The next morning, the smell of cinnamon and maple oatmeal dragged me out of bed. Was Kade back?

I rushed into the kitchen and froze in my tracks. Levi was standing on a stepping stool, carefully pulling a tray of freshly baked crescent rolls out of the oven.

A pot of oatmeal bubbled away on the stove. "You're up." He grinned. "I made breakfast for you and Dad." I stared at the perfectly golden rolls, my jaw hitting the floor. "You cooked this?" "Yep!

Dad says a man has to know his way around a kitchen if he wants to keep a wife." I walked over and ruffled his messy dark hair. "Good job, kiddo." Levi peeked around the corner toward the hallway. "Where's Dad?

Still asleep?" I swallowed hard. "He… had to go on a business trip. He'll be gone for a few days." "Huh?" Levi tilted his head. "Dad travels during his rut?

Usually, he just locks himself in the basement vault." My brain shortcircuited. "What basement vault?" "The panic room. It's totally packed with your photos and old clothes.

Aunt Seraphina tried to throw your stuff away once, and Dad practically tore the house down." Seraphina. I'd only met Kade's younger sister once, at our wedding.

She was a total pureblood supremacist when it came to beastmen. The second she laid eyes on me, she made it perfectly clear I was trash.

Levi scratched his chin, thinking hard. "I heard Aunt Seraphina say Grandpa had this hundredpercent genetically matched beastman lined up for Dad to marry.

But Dad told him to go to hell, and they had a massive blowout over it." Wait. What? My mind spun. Wasn't I his hundredpercent genetic match?

Wasn't my biological ability to soothe his rut the entire reason he married me in the first place? "A perfectly matched beastman?" I frowned. "Then why didn't your dad agree to it?" Levi rolled his eyes like I was the dumbest person on the planet. "Isn't it obvious?

Because he loves you, Mom. Duh." My head pounded. I was completely lost. Beastman logic was way above my paygrade.

With Kade MIA for the next few days, my life with Levi turned into a total rollercoaster. When we weren't doing homework, we were the pictureperfect motherson duo.

The second I pulled out a math worksheet, it was World War III. Kade was an absolute mastermind.

The literal second Levi hit elementary school age, he weaponized the kid and sent him straight to my doorstep.

Chapter 7 Walking home from the parentteacher conference, Levi's singledigit math score was burned into my brain. "Your dad is going to the next one," I muttered, staring straight ahead. "I'm not showing my face in that classroom again." Levi trailed behind me, his sneakers scuffing the pavement. "Winners don't complain about their environment, Mom.

They solve the problem. Education isn't just a oneman job. You and Dad need to step up and be good role models." "Step up?

I've been dragging you across the finish line!" The mere thought of tonight's homework made my voice jump an octave. "No iPad when we get home.

Homework first." He kicked a loose pebble. "If I got kidnapped tomorrow, would you regret yelling at me?" "Probably. But you aren't kidnapped." "Exactly.

So why do people wait until they lose something to appreciate it? I'm standing right here, safe and sound. Shouldn't you be showering me with love?" …He kind of had a point.

We passed a street vendor, and I bought him a candied apple. Kids are simple. The sugar wiped the brooding philosopher act right off his face.

Surprisingly, he shoved the stick toward me first. "Mom, take a bite. It's super sweet." "I'm good.

Watching my sugar." The words barely left my mouth when the streetlights at the end of the alley vanished. Three shadows blocked the exit.

The men swaggered forward, their eyes doing a slow, sleazy crawl over my body. "Tough job, raising a kid all by yourself," the guy in the middle drawled. "Why don't you ditch the brat and come grab a drink with us?" I stepped sideways, shoving Levi behind my legs. "Back off." "Spicy." The leader spat on the concrete and took a heavy step forward.

A low, guttural growl vibrated from behind me. I glanced down.

Levi’s hidden panther ears had popped up, flattened back against his skull in a defensive, aggressive posture. "Stay away from my mom!" The thugs blinked, then burst out laughing. "Whoa!

The little brat's got fangs!" "Gotta admit, those cat ear props look pretty realistic.

Where'd you buy 'em, kid?" The leader reached out, his dirty fingers snatching at Levi’s furry ear. My stomach dropped. Pure, blinding instinct took over.

I swung my leather purse, slamming the heavy metal buckle straight into the guy's jaw.

Before I could swing again, rough hands clamped down on both my wrists, twisting my arms back. "Didn't think we'd get a bonus," one of them sneered, his hot breath hitting my ear. "Getting paid for a hit, and the target turns out to be a knockout.

Totally worth it." Then, the air pressure dropped.

A rumble—so low and dark it vibrated right through the concrete and rattled the marrow in my bones—echoed from the mouth of the alley. The sneer wiped clean off the thug's face.

His eyes went wide, locked on something directly behind me. A massive, towering shadow stretched across the brick wall under the flickering streetlight.

The three men shoved me aside, scrambling backward. "It's a beast! Run