Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 179

Chapter 179: The Real Deal

The Royal Banquet was winding down, but the noise was still deafening. Ophelia was teaching Rurik a drinking song from the First Age that involved a lot of table-slapping, and Primrose and Caspian were in their own world on the balcony.

Luna stood near the dessert cart, holding a plate with two slices of cake.

She smoothed down her apron. Even for a victory feast, she was wearing her maid uniform—black dress, white frills—though she had allowed herself a touch of rouge on her cheeks.

She scanned the room. She wasn’t looking for the Warlords. She wasn’t looking for the kids.

She was looking for the man who had piloted the Abyssal Hunter through a gravity storm, shot a god in the shoulder, and somehow made it all look like he was just bored on a Tuesday.

Jax.

She found him not in the hall, but slipping out the side door toward the Palace Gardens. He didn’t walk with a limp or a hunch. He walked with a casual, loping stride, hands in his pockets, like he owned the place but didn’t care to pay the rent.

Luna took a deep breath. She grabbed a second fork.

"Okay, Luna," she whispered to herself. "You fought shadow monsters with a frying pan. You can talk to him. Even if you almost married the impostor who stole his face. It’s fine. It’s not weird at all."

She followed him out.

---

The Palace Gardens were serene. Silver moonflowers bloomed in the night, glowing softly.

Jax was leaning against a marble statue of a Nymph, tossing a gold coin in the air and catching it. He looked relaxed, his collar unbuttoned, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched the fountain.

He didn’t look traumatized. He looked like he was plotting something, or perhaps just enjoying the fact that nobody was shooting at him.

He didn’t turn around when she approached.

"You know, Lulu," Jax drawled, his voice smooth and teasing. "If you’re going to sneak up on a former Guard, you might want to lose the petticoats. They swish."

Luna stopped. "I wasn’t sneaking. I was... pursuing."

Jax caught the coin with a snap. He turned around, leaning back against the statue with crossed arms. His eyes—sharp, clever, and knowing—swept over her. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Pursuing?" He raised an eyebrow. "Sounds dangerous. Usually, when people pursue me, I end up in a dungeon or a dragon’s stomach."

"I brought cake," Luna said, holding up the plate as a peace offering.

"Bribery," Jax grinned, flashing a toothy smile that reminded her of a fox. "My favorite tactical maneuver."

He took a slice of cake, popping a piece into his mouth. "Rum. Nice. Primrose’s influence, I assume?"

"Jax," Luna started, ignoring the small talk. "We need to talk."

Jax’s smile didn’t fade, but it became fixed. A mask.

"Do we?" He looked back at the fountain. "We survived. The world didn’t end. You look great. I look devastatingly handsome. What’s there to talk about?"

"About the wedding," Luna said bluntly.

Jax winced. A crack in the armor.

"Uh," he said. "Wedding?"

He swirled the coin in his fingers.

"He promised to marry me."

"Look, Luna.. The Doppelgänger was... good. He was designed to be the perfect version of me. Better talker. Better dresser. Probably a better kisser, too."

He shrugged, acting like it didn’t bother him.

"He proposed. You said yes. It makes sense. Who wouldn’t want to marry a super-spy?"

Luna stepped closer. She put the cake down on the edge of the fountain.

"He was perfect," Luna admitted.

Jax looked away, his jaw tightening. "Right. Well, I’m glad you had fun with him—"

"And he was exhausting," Luna interrupted.

Jax blinked, looking back at her. "Excuse me?"

"He was a script," Luna said, stepping into his personal space. "Everything he said was designed to make me happy. Every smile was calculated. It was like dating a mirror."

She looked up at him. The Real Jax. The man who had been a lowly Guard at the Jade Serpent sector, who had survived by his wits and his charm, who hid his fear behind a lazy smirk.

"But you?" Luna said softly. "You piloted a dragon-ship into a war zone. You stood on that ramp and faced the Void Sovereign with a crossbow."

"I was aiming for his eye," Jax quipped defensively. "I missed and hit the shoulder. Sloppy."

"You saved Primrose," Luna insisted. "And you saved me..."

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