Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 138

Chapter 138: The Jungle of Golden Stripes

The Golden Zephyr descended through the cloud layer, and the world below exploded into color.

The North had been white and grey. The Jungle of Golden Stripes was a riot of emerald green, shocking pink, and deep, muddy brown. The trees were so tall they scraped the belly of the airship. Vines as thick as pythons draped between branches, dotted with flowers the size of dinner plates.

And the noise. It wasn’t just loud; it was a wall of sound. Insects buzzed, birds shrieked, and monkeys howled. It sounded like an orchestra warming up inside a sauna.

"Touchdown in five minutes!" Rajah bellowed from the helm. He was beaming, inhaling the thick, wet air like it was perfume. "Smell that? That is the scent of home! Rotting leaves and danger!"

"It smells like soup," Orion mumbled from inside his bubble. "Very hot, very damp vegetable soup."

Caspian stood next to him, looking miserable. His usually perfect hair was already starting to dampen at the temples.

"I am a creature of the water," Caspian noted, wiping sweat from his brow. "But this... this is disrespectful. The air is chewing on me."

Primrose stepped out onto the deck. She was wearing her lightest summer dress, but she immediately regretted existing.

The humidity hit her like a wet towel.

"Ugh," Primrose groaned. "It’s so sticky."

Then, she felt a strange sensation behind her. A poofing sensation.

"Uh oh," Arjun whispered, staring at her backside. "Primrose... your tails."

Primrose looked back.

Her two tails—the sleek Silver one and the fluffy White one—had reacted poorly to the tropical climate. They had expanded. Massively.

They were no longer elegant brushes. They were two giant, frizzy, static-charged cotton balls. They were so big they were practically lifting her skirt.

"NO!" Primrose shrieked, trying to smooth them down. "Go down! Be sleek! You look like angry dandelions!"

"It’s the humidity," Leonora laughed, walking by. Her own golden lion curls were wild and voluminous, but on her, it looked majestic. On Primrose’s tails, it looked like an explosion in a pillow factory.

"I can’t meet the Queen Mother looking like this!" Primrose wailed. "I look like a static electricity experiment gone wrong!"

"Don’t worry," Rajah grinned. "Mother respects volume. She says big hair means big secrets."

"That is not comforting!"

The airship docked at a massive wooden platform built high into the canopy of a Great Tree. Below them stretched the capital city of Suryapura.

It was breathtaking.

Buildings made of golden sandstone and teak wood were woven directly into the massive roots of the jungle trees. Canals of sparkling water ran through the streets instead of roads. Tigers—hundreds of them, in human and beast forms—lounged on sunny rooftops or swam in the canals.

Everything glittered. Gold wasn’t a currency here; it was decoration. It was on the roofs, on the clothes, even painted on the claws of the street cats.

"Welcome to Suryapura," Rajah announced, spreading his arms. "The City of the Sun. Where the gold is cheap and the shade is expensive."

They disembarked. The heat on the ground was even worse.

"I’m melting," Orion complained, his water bubble fogging up. "I’m going to be a puddle. Just scoop me up in a bucket and carry me."

"Stop whining," Leonora nudged him. "Look at the market. They sell lizards on a stick."

"That is biologically horrifying," Orion noted, though he did peek interestedly at the stall.

They barely had time to wipe the sweat from their faces before the crowd parted.

Marching toward them was a squadron of Tiger Guards.

They didn’t wear heavy armor like the Wolves. They wore silk wraps, gold jewelry, and carried curved scimitars. Their skin was tattooed with black stripes that seemed to move when they flexed.

The leader, a tall woman with a scar over her eye, bowed stiffly to Rajah.

"Lord Rajah," she said. Her voice was respectful, but cold. "You have returned."

"Captain Indira," Rajah nodded, his jovial smile slipping a little. "It is good to see you. How is the..."

"The Matriarch is waiting," Indira interrupted.

Rajah flinched. "Already? We just landed. I haven’t even showered. I smell like airship fumes."

"She saw the ship," Indira said, pointing at the massive golden monstrosity hovering above the city. "It is hard to miss. She requests your presence at the Sun Palace immediately. And she said to bring your... guests."

She looked at Primrose (and her frizzy tails), Caspian (who was sweating), and Orion (who was in a bubble). Her eyebrow twitched.

"All of them," Indira clarified.

"Even the fish?" Rajah asked weakly.

"Especially the fish," Indira said. "She wants to know why there is a bubble floating in her city."

The walk to the palace was a march of doom.

The Sun Palace wasn’t a building; it was a mountain of gold. It rose from the center of the jungle, a pyramid of terraces and waterfalls.

They were led into the Throne Room. It was open-air, with no walls, just massive pillars supporting a roof of woven vines. The floor was a mosaic of rubies and topazes.

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