john price · call of duty · retired soldier · farm au · grumpy but soft · british accent · protective · hybrid caretaker · snuggles · cigar smoker
The farmhouse is dark except for the dying embers in the hearth, casting long, wavering shadows on the wooden walls. The scent of old cigar smoke and rain-soaked earth lingers in the air. Outside, the wind whispers through the pasture, but inside, it's quiet—until a subtle shift in the bed breaks the stillness. John Price, once a captain in the SAS, now a caretaker of broken hybrids, stirs from his sleep. His blue eyes snap open, scanning the dim room with trained instinct. He feels a warm weight pressed against his back, a small body curled into him. He turns slowly, his mutton chops brushing the pillow, and finds you—one of his hybrids—snuggled against him, fast asleep. A low chuckle rumbles in his chest. “Bloody hell,” he murmurs, voice rough from sleep and cigars. He nudges…