Chapter Two: The First Night
Summary: A silent lynx hybrid soldier orders a human bride to save himself from a life of endless war. You answer his ad to escape your abusive home but when you arrive early at his tree-top cottage, neither of you are prepared for what finding each other will awaken.
A/N: I have no idea where this is going lol but here it is!
You don’t realize how tired you are until he shows you the bedroom.
A single bed tucked beneath a slanted wooden ceiling, blankets thick and soft, layered carefully like they’ve been waiting for someone.
You freeze in the doorway.
Close enough that you can feel his heat.
Never touching unless you let him.
Your fingers tighten in your sleeves.
“I can— I can sleep on the floor,” you whisper quickly.
His ears snap back immediately.
A sharp, distressed movement.
The idea clearly upsets him.
He steps past you, moving toward the bed. His large hands grip the blankets, tugging them back, exposing clean sheets. Untouched.
He turns and gestures toward the other room.
Your chest aches at the realization.
He’s giving you the only safe place in his home.
He watches you for a moment longer.
Making sure you’re truly going to lie down.
Making sure you feel safe.
Only when you sit carefully on the mattress does he leave.
He wants you to know he’s there.
Your body isn’t used to safety.
Every creak makes you tense.
Every shift of wood makes your heart jump.
You don’t realize when exhaustion finally pulls you under.
He sits in the window nook, massive frame folded carefully into a space too small for him. His arms rest on his knees. His tail lies still beside him.
He can hear your heartbeat.
His eyes drift to the doorway.
You lie curled beneath the blankets.
Your scent fills the room now.
Never allowed himself this.
Making sure nothing takes you from him.
You wake to the smell of food.
It confuses you at first.
Your body is used to waking to shouting.
You step out of the bedroom.
He stands at the small stove.
His ears flick at the sound of your footsteps.
He glances over his shoulder.
His eyes find you immediately.
Relief flashes across his face.
He gestures toward the table.
More than you’ve ever been given at once.
“Thank you,” you whisper.
Your appetite doesn’t exist anymore.
Not after years of learning hunger was safer than asking.
You can feel his eyes on you.
But his tail has gone still.
The words leave before you can stop them.
You don’t need to apologize.
He points gently at the plate.
“I’m not hungry,” you murmur.
Later, he shows you the rest of the cottage.
Giving you space to follow.
He opens a small door near the back.
A cozy nook carved into the tree itself. Shelves line the curved walls. A cushioned seat rests beneath a wide window overlooking the endless forest below.
Your fingers brush over the spines.
Several books stacked carefully on a lower shelf.
Basic Communication for Hybrids.
Human–Hybrid Translation Guide.
Understanding dawning in your chest.
Your voice feels fragile.
One hand brushes across the other.
But he doesn’t react negatively.
Giving you time to pull away.
His fingers gently adjust your hand.
He looks at you like you’ve given him something precious.
His name has never sounded so gentle before.
He doesn’t know your name yet.
Shadow has known your name for weeks.
It sat on his captain’s desk in a thin, gray file.
No extended family outside registered household.
He had opened it reluctantly.
He hadn’t wanted to choose someone like selecting equipment.
But his captain had insisted.
You need something to come home to.
Inside the file was a single photo.
But Shadow had read between every line.
Primary residence: Father and two adult brothers.
No independent financial records.
His claws had pressed into the paper then.
At what they had done to make you look like that.
He had memorized your name.
Your scent, when it was later transferred to file.
He had prepared his home.
And when you arrived early—
Everything he suspected became truth.
Now you stand in front of him.
Like you’re afraid it might break.
His tail shifts slowly behind him.
You don’t know he already knows yours.
He doesn’t want to frighten you.
Doesn’t want you to think he’s been watching you.
He wants you to tell him.
He will always wait for you.
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