Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 208

Chapter 208: The Bouncing Harvest and the Water-Plums

There was an unspoken rule in the Warlord pack: The greenhouse was neutral territory.

It was my sanctuary. When the noise of five hyperactive beast-cubs and four terrifyingly competitive men became too much, I could step through the heavy ironwood doors and immediately breathe.

The air inside was always perfectly warm, smelling of damp earth, crushed mint, and sweet blooming flowers. High above, Cassian’s magically tempered glass dome let in the exact right amount of sunlight, while Caspian’s beautiful, glowing ice-pipes hummed softly along the wooden beams, misting the plants with fresh water.

It was peaceful. It was quiet.

Well, usually.

"Get back here, you little menace!" I hissed, lunging forward with a woven basket.

*Boing. Boing. Splash.*

I completely missed. The target—a perfectly round, incredibly juicy, bright blue plum—bounced off the edge of the wooden planter, ricocheted off a terra-cotta pot, and landed squarely in a small puddle of water near my boots.

I wiped a strand of silver hair out of my face and let out a frustrated sigh.

I had purchased a rare clipping of a Dancing Water-Plum tree from a traveling merchant. The merchant had warned me that the fruit was "energetic" when ripe, but I hadn’t realized he meant they literally tried to hop away to find the nearest water source so they could sprout.

"Having trouble, Sovereign?"

I turned around. Standing in the open doorway, holding a pink plastic bucket, was Clover. The little bunny-kin was wearing a pair of denim overalls and a wide straw sun hat. Right behind her, looking like a tiny, extremely focused bodyguard, was Vali.

"A little bit," I laughed, holding up my empty basket. "The plums are ripe, but they keep dodging me. I need to harvest them before they bounce out the window."

Vali’s golden eyes widened. His fuzzy wolf ears shot straight up. He looked at the bright blue plum currently vibrating in the puddle near my feet.

"The fruit is running away?" Vali gasped. He immediately dropped into a low, predatory crouch, his tail wagging so hard his entire body shook. "It is prey! I will hunt the fruit, Sovereign! I am the best hunter in the first grade!"

"Vali, wait, they’re delicate—" I started to say.

But the wolf-cub was already in motion. With a fierce, high-pitched howl, Vali launched himself at the nearest planter just as three more blue plums popped off the branch and started bouncing across the dirt.

Vali caught one mid-air, trapping it under his paws. "I got it! I have conquered the blue circle!"

"Don’t squish it!" Clover shrieked, marching over and tapping Vali on the shoulder. She held out her pink bucket. "Bruised fruit loses fifty percent of its market value! You have to handle it gently, Vali. If you smash the inventory, you’re fired from the harvest."

Vali immediately loosened his grip, carefully picking up the unharmed plum with his teeth and gently dropping it into Clover’s bucket.

"Good wolf," Clover praised, patting his messy silver hair. "Now, go flank the ones near the tomatoes. I will secure the perimeter."

I just stood back and watched, highly amused. Vali was darting back and forth across the greenhouse, using his incredible reflexes to snatch the bouncing plums out of the air before they could hit the ground, gently depositing them into Clover’s bucket.

He was practically vibrating with pride every time the little bunny-kin told him he was doing a good job. Rurik would probably faint if he saw his fierce Northern heir taking agricultural orders from a merchant-cub, but they made a surprisingly effective team.

"Look out!" Vali yelled. "A big one is making a break for it!"

I looked up. A massive, perfectly ripe water-plum had launched itself from the very top of the tree. It was arcing high through the air, heading straight for the open ventilation window near the roof. Vali jumped, but he wasn’t tall enough to reach it.

Suddenly, a sphere of water materialized in the air, wrapping perfectly around the flying plum and freezing it in place.

The water bubble floated gently downward, landing perfectly in the palm of a large, calloused hand.

Caspian stepped into the greenhouse, ducking his head slightly to clear the doorway. My husband was dressed casually in a soft linen shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His iridescent hair caught the sunlight pouring through the glass dome, and his teal eyes were crinkled at the corners in a warm, lazy smile.

"Thank you, Vali," Clover said primly, adjusting her sun hat. She looked up at me. "Sovereign Primrose, what are you going to make with these? Can we eat them now?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

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