Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Too Many Alphas.

Outside the shop, the air was crackling with tension.

Lord Rurik Jaeger and General Rajah Khanda had arrived at the same time, their carriages blocking the street. They were currently arguing about parking space.

Archduke Cassian Argentis stepped out of a portal, checking his pocket watch with a sneer. Duke Lucien Crepusci materialized from a shadow, silent as the grave.

"Move your transport, Wolf," Rajah boomed. "I have a Tiger to retrieve." "Make me, Stripes," Rurik snarled.

They reached for the door handle simultaneously. It was a race. Who would get get to the "Miracle Nanny" first? Who would secure her favor for the evening?

Rurik shoved the door open. Rajah tried to squeeze through. Cassian sighed and slipped past them. Lucien ghosted in.

They stepped inside, ready for the noise. Ready for the chaos. Ready to fight for my attention.

They froze.

The shop was silent. Bathed in the dying golden light of the sunset, dust motes dancing in the air like tiny stars.

There was no screaming. No fighting. No flying blocks.

There was just a pile of sleeping children.

And in the center of them, bathed in gold, was Primrose.

Her silver hair was messy, spilling over her shoulders like moonlight. Her apron was stained with flour and chocolate. Her face was soft, unguarded, and peaceful. She looked small. Frail.

But she was surrounded by their children—the Wolf, the Tiger, the Snake, the Panther—who were sleeping around her not like wild beasts, but like a protective wall.

The door chime gave a tiny ting, but no one moved.

Lord Rurik Jaeger felt a strange, sharp ache in his chest. He looked at this "failed" fox-kin, smelling of milk and sugar, holding his son’s paw. He remembered his late wife—beautiful, but cold. Distant. Primrose wasn’t distant. She was right there, in the dirt, in the mess, holding his boy. She is the hearth fire, his wolf instincts whispered. She is the den.

General Rajah Khanda lowered his hand from his sword. He looked at Arjun, asleep without a worry in the world, and then at the woman who had tired him out. He saw strength in her tired shoulders. He saw a partner who could handle the weight of his world. She is peace, his tiger soul rumbled. She is the calm in the storm.

Archduke Cassian Argentis felt his cold blood warm. He looked at Jasper, curled up and safe, and then at the woman who had defied him, lectured him, and saved his brother. He had thought her an asset. A variable. But seeing her now... She is priceless, his snake mind hissed. A treasure that must be hoarded.

Duke Lucien Crepusci didn’t think. He just felt. He looked at Silas, sleeping without fear for the first time, and then at the woman who had unlocked the dark room. She is the light, his panther heart purred. And I will kill anything that tries to put her out.

For a single, suspended moment, the four most powerful men in the empire weren’t rivals. They weren’t enemies.

They were four lonely men, looking at the one woman who made their fractured families whole.

And in that silence, four hearts skipped the exact same beat.

Thump-thump.

Then, a sound broke the spell.

"Shhh!"

Vali cracked one pink eye open. He lifted his head from Arjun’s stomach. He looked at his father, then at the other men.

He put a clawed finger to his lips.

"Quiet," the Demon Cub whispered, his voice fierce and protective. "Prim is sleeping."

Jasper opened one golden eye. "Arjun is drooling. But yes. Silence is required."

Silas just glared at his uncle, daring him to make a sound.

The four men stood there, scolded by their own children.

Rurik let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. A small, rare smile touched his lips.

"Understood," he whispered back.

They didn’t wake her. They didn’t fight. They just stood watch in the twilight, guarding the woman who guarded their hearts.

The sun had fully set when I finally woke up. The shop was dark, lit only by the streetlamps outside casting long shadows across the floor.

I sat up with a gasp, my heart racing. "The cubs!"

I looked around wildly. The rug was empty. The pile of sleeping predators was gone.

Oh god. Did I lose them? Did they eat each other? Did Marquis Grieve take them?

I scrambled to my feet, my hand instinctively reaching for my ladle—and then I saw it.

On the counter, illuminated by a single, glowing Moon-stone lamp (which I definitely didn’t own), was a row of items.

I walked over, my hands trembling slightly.

A heavy, fur-lined cloak with the Jaeger Wolf crest. It smelled like pine and winter storms. Note scrawled on rough parchment: The shop is drafty. Fix the insulation. - R.

A small, heavy box containing a delicate, golden whistle shaped like a tiger. Note in bold, block lettering: Signal Whistle. One blow summons the nearest Crimson Fang patrol. Use it. - Gen. Khanda.

A pristine, cream-colored envelope sealed with green wax. Inside was a cheque. A blank cheque. Note in elegant cursive: For the educational materials. Do not be frugal. Jasper requires the best. - C.A.

There was no note. There was just a single, perfect black rose in a crystal vase. It hadn’t been there before. And when I looked at the shadows in the corner of the room, they seemed to... wave back. Lucien.

I let out a breath I felt like I’d been holding for hours.

They hadn’t just picked up their sons. They had left... tributes. Protections.

My Little Whiskers Daycare wasn’t just a business anymore. It was a fortress, guarded by a Wolf, a Tiger, a Snake, and a Panther.

I touched the soft fur of Rurik’s cloak.

"Well," I whispered to the empty room. "I guess I don’t need to worry about Marquis Grieve breaking down the door tonight."

I walked to the Little Whiskers Daycare the next morning, humming a tune. I had a plan for the day: finger painting, a nap, and maybe testing a new Savory Muffin recipe for Arjun’s metabolism.

I turned the corner onto my street.

I stopped.

My humble little shop... was gone.

Well, the building was there. But it was currently being besieged.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify