ᴘᴏɪꜱᴏɴ ᴀᴘᴘʟᴇ [ ʙʟ ]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 2: ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴍᴀᴛᴇ



"I'm here..."

The deep, hushed voice preceded the man’s arrival, his towering figure entering the room in fluid strides smooth, deliberate, like a predator that never wasted movement. His dark hair was damp from the rain, clinging to his temples, and his pale, nearly iridescent eyes flickered with something unreadable as he stepped inside.

"That was faster than usual," Antoine chuckled from his seat, brushing a speck of lint from his slacks.

The tiger in him always appreciated punctuality, but even more than that control.

He looked toward the the center of the room where a hes second brother was sitting looking at him with glinted gaze.

The snow leopard sat down with a thump, tail twitching anxiously behind him.

"You read the file?" the snow leopard asked, his gaze sliding to the center of the room, where a brown envelope lay open on the coffee table. The documents inside were still pristine, barely touched only glanced at, perhaps out of disbelief.

Antoine nodded slowly. “We both did. It came straight from the Bureau of Genealogy and Bonding. Turned eighteen just this morning. Perfect match markers… across all three of us.”

The snow leopard brow twitched. “That's almost unheard of.”

“That’s never happened,” the snow leopard muttered, arms crossed tight over his chest. His claws were halfway out, snow-dusted ears flicking with agitation. “Triple match? To him? And we’ve never met?”

"Genetic compatibility, pheromone mapping, projected bond strength... all of it points to him," Antoine said. He tapped the table once. “This isn’t a mistake.”

The youngest growled under his breath. "It shouldn't be a file. It should be him. Here. With us. Now."

“Would you have preferred to scent him out by instinct like animals?” the snake asked quietly, his voice like silk hiding steel. “I understand the tradition. I even respect it. But our kind has evolved. The government doesn’t want unclaimed bonds driving shifters feral anymore. Not after what happened last year.”

The room grew colder.

Even the snow leopard fell silent at that.

They all remembered last year’s headlines a young lion shifter going mad from a rejected bond. He’d destroys a public park in a blind frenzy before his pride had to put him down themselves. Tragedy. Waste. Pain.

“…Still,” the youngest said after a moment, “this feels wrong. A piece of paper shouldn’t be the first time I see his name.”

The snake leaned forward then, picking up the file at last after Antoine puts it on his table. His hands were steady, fingers tipped with nails just slightly longer than human. The paper rustled faintly as he opened it again.

A name stared back at him.

Lucian Ambrose Everhart.

Eighteen.

Snow fox bloodline, latent dormant traits. Undiscovered species potential.

Bond score: 99.2% compatibility.

Three bonded mates: Antoine (Tiger), Cassian (Snake), Leorio (Snow Leopard).

Cassian, the snake, let the name settle on his tongue without speaking it aloud. His scales itched beneath his skin, though they hadn’t surfaced yet. There was something ancient in him stirring. Something old and possessive.

“Lucian,” Antoine echoed gently, finally breaking the silence. “That’s him.”

“I want to see him,” Leorio said, already rising again. “Where is he? Did they include a photo?”

Cassian handed over the page with a photo clipped to the top. It was a candid one Lucian’s eyes were wide, maybe surprise because of the sudden picture taken by the bureau. Ethereal.

Leorio felt it. A prickling down the back of his neck. A low heat stirring in the center of his chest.

Antoine tilted his head as he stared at it. "The bond hasn’t fully activated yet. Not for him."

“He’s probably confused,” Leorio said. “He might be scared. You think the government explained everything to him?”

“They never do,” Cassian replied darkly. “They give a name and a list. They leave the rest to instinct.”

Antoine stood, the tiger in him pacing beneath his skin. “Then we don’t wait. We reach out. Officially.”

“You mean go to his house?” Leorio perked up instantly.

“No,” Cassian said coolly. “We send a letter. Offer a meeting. Don’t overwhelm him. Three dominant shifters showing up at once? He might run.”

Leorio frowned but nodded reluctantly.

“Then we meet him soon,” Antoine agreed. “Neutral ground. Public, but quiet. Somewhere he feels safe. He might not even believe any of this is real yet.”

“And if he refuses?” Leorio asked softly.

Cassian closed the file, eyes gleaming. “Then we don’t give him a choice.”

Antoine shot him a warning look, but didn’t argue. They all knew it: when the bond starts to burn, there’s no extinguishing it.

"Tonight, we write the letter, ” Antoine said. “Tomorrow, we watch from a distance. Give him time.”

“…And if something tries to hurt him before we get there?” Leorio asked, voice barely a whisper.

Cassian’s forked tongue flicked against the roof of his mouth, just once. “Then we end it. No hesitation.”

The youngest smiled slightly, something feral in his expression.

The hunt had begun.

And their mate had no idea he’d already been claimed.



> ✦･ﾟ: End of Chapter 2! :･ﾟ✧

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