Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 127

Chapter 127: The Sacred Climb

The decision was made in the snow.

"The Shrine," Marquis Konrad said, staring up at the jagged peak that loomed over Winter-Hold. The summit was shrouded in perpetual clouds, but now, faint flashes of purple lightning flickered within the grey mist. "It’s been forbidden for centuries. Only the Elders were allowed to climb the steps."

"Tradition is dead," Rurik growled, wiping blood from his lip. "My son is up there. If the gods have a problem with me trespassing, they can file a complaint after I punch them."

"We go now," Caspian agreed, his voice tight. "The magical pressure is rising. Whatever the Boss is doing, he’s accelerating the timeline."

Primrose tightened the straps of her snack bag. She wasn’t a warrior, but she was the only one who had stood face-to-face with the Boss before and lived. She had a feeling she would be needed.

Duchess Freya turned to the children.

"Astrid," Freya said, her voice leaving no room for argument. "You stay here. You guard Orion. If the beacon goes out, you light it again. Do you understand?"

Astrid opened her mouth to protest, her hand gripping the hilt of her oversized sword. "But Mother! I can fight! I proved it in the ruins!"

"You proved you have courage," Freya said, kneeling down to look her daughter in the eye. "But the Shrine... the altitude alone will kill you. The air is too thin. You will pass out before we reach the first gate. Stay here. Protect the Prince."

Freya kissed Astrid’s forehead, then stood up.

"Let’s move," Konrad ordered.

The five adults—the Wolf Brothers, the Duchess, the King, and the Fox—turned and sprinted toward the mountain path.

Astrid watched them go. She watched until they disappeared into the swirling snowstorm that guarded the base of the peak.

Then, she slammed her sword into the ground.

"Stupid!" Astrid yelled, kicking a pile of snow. "Stupid thin air! Stupid altitude!"

Orion stood nearby, wrapped in his layers of wool and fur. He watched her tantrum with calm, analytical eyes.

"They’re right, you know," Orion observed, shivering slightly. "The oxygen up there is barely enough to keep a bird alive, let alone kids. And it’s freezing. If we go, we’re just going to be frozen statues by the time we reach the top."

Astrid whirled on him. "So we just sit here? While that shadow thing has Vali? While Vivi is... gone?"

"We monitor the situation," Orion said, pointing to the beacon. "We’re the lookout. That’s a real job."

"It’s a boring job!" Astrid snapped. She pulled her sword out of the ground. "I’m not staying. I know a shortcut. The Goat Path. It winds around the back, out of the wind."

Orion blinked. "Astrid, that sounds like a great way to fall off a mountain."

"I don’t care," Astrid marched toward the side gate. "I’m going. Are you coming or are you gonna stay here and be a popsicle?"

Orion sighed. A long, suffering sigh that seemed too old for his five-year-old body.

"If I stay, I’ll probably freeze," Orion muttered. "If I go, I’ll probably freeze and fall. But at least if I go, I can tell you ’I told you so’ before we die."

He waddled after her. "Wait up. I need to tighten my scarf."

The Stairway to Heaven was a misnomer. It should have been called the Escalator to Hell.

It was a vertical ascent of five thousand stone steps, carved directly into the spine of the mountain. The wind here didn’t just blow; it tried to push you off the cliff.

"Keep moving!" Konrad shouted over the gale. "Don’t stop or your blood will freeze!"

They were halfway up. Primrose was struggling. Her fox biology made her agile, but she wasn’t built for brute-force endurance like the Wolves. Her lungs burned. Her legs felt like lead.

"Here," Caspian said.

He didn’t ask. He simply scooped her up with one arm, holding her against his chest while he continued to climb with the other.

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