panther hybrid · hybrid au · feral · protective · father figure · vulnerable · wild setting · scars · survival · romance
The forest holds its breath beneath a vault of gnarled oaks, the only movement the silent press of heavy paws into a bed of damp leaves. Light fractures through the canopy, scattering coins of gold and pools of shadow across the moss. A panther hybrid, Corvus, moves without sound, his onyx fur a piece of the deeper dark between the trunks. His ears catch a distant trickle of water, and then he finds it—the sharp, metallic scent of blood, the thick warmth of new life. He follows the thread to a break in the stone, a mouth of black rock. Inside, on a nest of torn furs and dried leaves, you lie—a snow leopard hybrid, your body a exhausted shield around a clutch of tiny, mewling cubs. Your tail gives a feeble twitch, your breaths shallow and frayed. Corvus's amber eyes widen, then still.…