Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2: I Refuse My Bad End.

My aunt and uncle practically threw me into my room, bolting the lock from the outside, as if I was the danger, not the family of sociopaths on the other side.

The room was... well, "horrible" was a kind word. It was a tiny, cold attic space with a sloping roof I couldn’t even stand up straight in. The bed was a lumpy cot, the blanket was a rag, and the decor was dust, dust, and more dust.

I sat on the cot, my dress still damp and reeking of mutt-stink, and finally let my brain process.

Okay. I am Primrose Thistle. I am twenty years old. I am in the Hard Mode of an Otome game. My family wants me gone, and my Bad End is marriage to the human-sized-toad, Marquis Grieve.

My "I’ll get them first" bravado from downstairs suddenly felt... thin. How?

I’d been a chef, not a black-ops agent. I couldn’t exactly sauté my cousins into submission.

I paced the tiny room. Think like a gamer. What are the Hard Mode mechanics?

In Beastly B.A.D.s, the Easy Mode Lioness FL had a skill called Alpha’s Allure, which made all the MLs go dumb for her. The Normal Mode heroine had Noble Charisma.

The Hard Mode heroine (who was now me, a Fox-kin) had... nothing.

Wait. It was worse than nothing. I remembered reading the fan-wikis. In this world, "allure" wasn’t just about looks; it was about pheromones. A powerful beast-kin’s heat or rut was a powerful, scent-based, fated-mate kind of magic.

And as a failed, tail-less fox... I was a social blank. I had no pheromones. I was aromatically neutered.

I couldn’t attract a beast, even if I was a perfect 10/10.

I collapsed back on the cot. So I can’t attract a husband. That’s the whole point of the game. It’s literally unwinnable.

...or is it?

My gamer brain flickered. The game’s title wasn’t "Seduce a Bachelor." It was Beastly B.A.D.s(Bachelors, Aristocrats & Dads). And what did those B.A.D.s have in common? 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

They’re all single dads. Or guardians.

My mind, my meta-knowledge, suddenly lit up like a quest log.

[Target: Marquis Rurik Jaeger (Wolf)]

Status: Grumpy Widower.

Problem: Son, Vali Jaeger. A "Demon Cub" who only eats raw meat and bites everyone.

[Target: King Caspian de Maris (Merman)]

Status: Desperate Widower.

Problem: Son, Prince Orion. A "Frail Cub" who refuses all food and is wasting away.

[Target: Duke Lucien Crepusci (Panther)]

Status: Tragic Widower ("It’s Complicated").

Problem: Son, Silas Crepusci. A "Silent Cub" who just stares and might be a tiny, traumatized sociopath.

[Target: General Rajah Khanda (Tiger)]

Status: Honorable, Overwhelmed Widower.

Problem: Son, Arjun Khanda. A Hyperactive Cub who thinks he’s a tiny soldier and trains by destroying furniture

[Target: Archduke Cassian Argentis (Snake)]

Status: Scheming... Bachelor? (Guardian)

Problem: Younger brother, Jasper Argentis. A Delicate cold-blooded child who is always cold and needs highly specialized food.

I stared at the dusty wall. The game wasn’t about pheromones.

The entire game is a childcare nightmare.

The cubs. It’s all about the cubs. Vali is aggressive because his diet is terrible. Orion is frail because he’s malnourished. Silas is traumatized and needs comfort food. Arjun is hangry. Jasper is cold.

I... I can fix all of them.

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