Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Cousin Rivalry

The adults didn’t waste any time.

"We need to brief Konrad immediately," Duchess Freya said, adjusting her sword belt. Her white wolf ears twitched with urgency. "He’s in the War Room. Rurik, Caspian, Primrose... come with me."

Primrose hesitated, looking down at the two boys.

Vali was currently vibrating with energy, poking a suit of armor to see if it would bite back. Orion was standing perfectly still, wrapped in so many scarves he looked like a teal caterpillar.

"Will they be okay?" Primrose asked.

"I will monitor them," Lady Astrid announced. She stepped forward, puffing out her chest. She stood stiffly, her hand resting on the pommel of her wooden practice sword. "I have been trained in perimeter defense. I can guard two civilians."

"I am not a civilian!" Vali protested, puffing out his own cheeks. "I am a Warlord! I wrestled a lobster!"

Astrid looked at him with profound disappointment. "A lobster. Impressive. I killed a snow-rat the size of a dog this morning."

Vali’s mouth dropped open. "Whoa. Cool."

Lord Rurik knelt down. He grabbed Vali by the shoulder, looking him dead in the eye.

"Listen to me, pup," Rurik grunted. "This is enemy territory. Do not break anything valuable. Do not bite your cousin. And if you fight..." Rurik leaned in, whispering loudly, "...win."

"Rurik!" Primrose hissed. She knelt down and straightened Orion’s scarf. "Orion, keep Vali out of trouble, okay? Use your brain."

"Affirmative," Orion mumbled, his teeth chattering slightly. "I will apply logic to the situation."

"Good boys." Primrose kissed them both on the forehead.

Then, the adults turned the corner and vanished toward the War Room, leaving the three children alone in the drafty stone corridor.

Silence stretched for ten seconds.

Astrid stared at them. She had her mother’s intense yellow eyes and her father’s permanent scowl. At eight years old, she carried herself like a forty-year-old general who was tired of everyone’s incompetence.

"Alright," Astrid barked. "Rules of engagement. One: Do not touch the walls; they are historic. Two: Do not make noise; this is a place of discipline. Three: Stay exactly where you are while I finish my patrol."

She turned her back on them and began to march down the hall.

Vali blinked. "Is she joking?"

"I don’t think she knows how to joke," Orion observed, shuffling his feet to keep warm. "She seems... highly stressed."

Vali didn’t listen. He ran after her.

"Hey!" Vali shouted. "Hey, Cousin! Wait up!"

Astrid stopped and spun around. "Silence! You will alert the enemy!"

"What enemy?" Vali looked around excitedly. "Is the Void here? Can I bite it?"

"The enemy could be anywhere," Astrid hissed. "Spies. Assassins. Snow-Rats."

She looked at Vali’s clothes—a comfortable, high-quality tunic from the Capital. She sneered.

"Go back to your room, little wolf. You’ll just get in the way. You smell like soap and weakness."

Vali frowned. He sniffed his own sleeve. "I smell like strawberries! It’s the shampoo!"

"Exactly," Astrid scoffed. "Soft."

She turned to look at Orion. Or rather, she looked through him.

"You," she pointed at Vali. "Stay."

"What about him?" Vali pointed at Orion.

Astrid didn’t even acknowledge the Jioaren Prince. To her, the shivering, scarf-wrapped boy wasn’t a threat, a warrior, or even a wolf. He was just luggage.

"Luggage stays with the owner," Astrid said dismissively. "Move it, or I’ll have you detained."

Orion blinked. He stepped forward, trying to be diplomatic.

"Excuse me," Orion said, his voice polite despite the cold. "I am Prince Orion. It is nice to meet you. Do you have a heating system in this fortress? Because the ambient temperature is—"

Astrid turned on her heel and walked away.

Orion stood there, his hand half-raised. He lowered it slowly.

"She... she muted me," Orion whispered, looking hurt. "She treated me like background noise."

Vali’s eyes narrowed. His tail, which had been wagging, went still.

Nobody ignored his brother.

"Hey!" Vali yelled, sprinting after her.

He didn’t stop this time. He ran right past her, slid on the stone floor in his socks, and blocked her path. He spread his arms wide.

"You’re rude!" Vali announced.

Astrid stopped. Her hand twitched toward her wooden sword. "Move."

"No," Vali grinned, showing his sharp canines. "I’m bored. And you’re boring. Rurik said this place is tough, but you’re just walking around looking at walls."

"I am patrolling!" Astrid yelled, her composure cracking. "I am the Heir! I have responsibilities!"

"You’re just walking!" Vali argued. "Let’s do something real. Let’s wrestle!"

"I do not wrestle," Astrid said icily. "It is undignified."

"You’re scared you’ll lose," Vali taunted. He did a little hop from foot to foot, like a boxer. "Soft city wolf? Ha! I bet I can pin you in five seconds."

Astrid’s eye twitched. The Soft City Wolf comment had clearly hit a nerve.

"You think you can beat me?" Astrid stepped forward, towering over him by a good four inches. "I have been training since I could walk. You probably have someone cut your meat for you."

"I eat meat off the bone!" Vali barked. "Come on! Fight me! Or are you a scaredy-cat?"

"I am a Wolf!" Astrid roared.

She drew her wooden practice sword.

"Vali, no," Orion called out from down the hall, waddling toward them in his blanket cocoon. "This is a statistically bad idea. She has a weapon. You have... socks."

"Formation A!" Vali yelled.

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