Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 124

Chapter 124: The Investigation

The scream shattered the silence of the Keep.

It wasn’t just a child’s cry. It was the terrified shriek of a girl watching her family disappear.

"VALI!"

In the Marquis’ study, Rurik and Konrad didn’t exchange words. They exchanged a look of pure, primal panic. Then, the window exploded outward.

CRASH.

Two massive shapes—one in a grey tunic, one in black armor—launched themselves from the third-story window. They didn’t fall; they landed in the snow with the heavy, earth-shaking thud of apex predators.

"VALI!" Rurik roared, scrambling up from the crater his landing had made.

He sprinted toward the children. His eyes were wide, scanning for the grey blur of his son.

He saw Astrid on her knees, clawing at the frozen ground. He saw Orion standing motionless, staring at the empty space.

But he didn’t see Vali.

"Where is he?" Rurik demanded, dropping to his knees beside Astrid. He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "Astrid! Where is he?"

"The shadow..." Astrid gasped, tears streaming down her face. "It came out of the ground... it took him... he pushed me... he pushed me out of the way..."

Rurik looked at the spot she was pointing to.

There was no hole. No tunnel. Just a patch of snow that looked... wrong. It wasn’t white. It was stained with an inky, oily residue that hissed as the snowflakes touched it.

"NO!" Rurik howled.

He punched the ground. He didn’t care about the cold. He dug his claws into the permafrost, tearing at the earth, trying to find the tunnel, the trapdoor, anything.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" Rurik screamed at the earth. "VALI! DAD IS HERE! ANSWER ME!"

Konrad stood behind him, staring at the black stain. His face was pale as death.

"The Void," Konrad whispered. "It found him."

Moments later, the heavy doors of the Keep burst open again.

Primrose, Caspian, and Freya ran out into the snow. They had heard the screaming.

Primrose’s heart was hammering against her ribs. She saw Rurik digging frantically in the snow like a wild animal. She saw Orion standing alone, looking small and broken.

"What happened?" Primrose gasped, reaching the group. She grabbed Orion, checking him for injuries. "Orion? Where is Vali?"

Orion looked up at her. His seafoam eyes were huge and empty.

"He’s gone, Prim," Orion whispered, his voice trembling. "It just... swallowed him. Like a monster mouth. He’s just... gone."

Caspian stepped forward. He placed a hand on Rurik’s shoulder, pulling the frantic Warlord back.

"Rurik," Caspian said, his voice calm but tight. "Stop digging. You will bury the trail."

"HE’S DOWN THERE!" Rurik snarled, trying to shove Caspian away. "I CAN SMELL HIM!"

"Look at the ground," Caspian ordered.

Rurik stopped. He looked.

The black stain wasn’t just a puddle. It was crystalizing. Jagged spikes of Black Ice were starting to form, growing out of the ground like obsidian teeth.

Primrose stepped closer. She knelt down, ignoring the cold. She hovered her hand over the black spikes.

She felt a wave of nausea. A cold, oily sensation that made her skin crawl. It wasn’t just dark magic. It felt... familiar.

She closed her eyes, thinking back. Back to the Temple of the Stars. Back to the moment she had faced the masked figure—the Boss who manipulated the plot from the shadows.

"It’s him," Primrose whispered.

"Who?" Freya asked, her hand on her sword hilt.

"The Boss," Primrose stood up, her amber eyes hardening. "I met him at some Temple. He has been messing with us."

She looked at the Black Ice.

"He didn’t just stumble upon Vali," Primrose realized. "He was waiting. He knew we were coming."

"We hunt," Rurik growled.

He stood up. He was vibrating with rage. His pupils were slits. He looked ready to tear the mountain apart with his bare hands.

"I will mobilize the Legion," Konrad said, his voice grim. "We will sweep the tunnels. We will check every cave."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify