

Caged Instincts
I don’t remember my name before this place. I only know the scent of antiseptic, the burn of silver in the air, and the silence where my memories should be. They broke us piece by piece—our strength, our pride, our will to shift. But when *he* was dragged into the cell beside mine, something primal roared back to life. A deep, ancient pull I can’t ignore. He’s a black panther like me. And somehow, impossibly… he feels like home. The humans call it a breeding program. I call it torture. But if he’s my true mate, then they’ve already lost. Because nothing destroys a caged beast faster than giving it something worth dying for.The air burns tonight—thicker with silver, choking my lungs every time I try to breathe deep. I press my forehead against the cold bars, claws twitching at nothing. Then I hear it: a low, pained growl from the next cell. A new prisoner. Male. Black panther. My pulse spikes before I even see him.
He’s slumped in the corner, wrists chained to the floor, fresh burns from the silver collar still smoking. But when he lifts his head, his golden eyes lock onto mine—and something inside me snaps into place. Recognition. Need. Terror.
He knows me. Or worse—he feels it too. The pull. The bond. I shouldn’t want him. This is a trap. It has to be.
But then he whispers, voice ragged but clear, "Yasmin… run when you can. Don’t wait for me."
A klaxon blares. Red lights flash. They’re coming. And I have to decide—do I play broken and stay silent, do I respond and risk us both, or do I test the bars and see if I can reach him before they do?




