Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 216

Chapter 216: The Hidden Sanctuary

The damp, echoing tunnel of the sea-cave didn’t lead to a cramped smuggler’s holding cell. As Lucien slipped deeper into the darkness, his daggers drawn, the smell of cheap ale and dirty grease began to fade. It was replaced by the crisp, clean scent of fresh spring water, blooming moon-lilies, and pure, concentrated magic.

The tunnel sloped upward, the rocky walls giving way to glowing blue moss. Lucien stepped silently around the final bend and stopped completely still.

He hadn’t just found a poacher’s hideout. He had stumbled into a massive, hidden sanctuary.

It was a breathtaking underground grotto, completely hollowed out inside the coastal cliffs. A wide opening at the very top of the cavern let the afternoon sunlight pour in, illuminating a crystal-clear subterranean lake. Built along the edges of the water were beautiful, woven reed houses and hanging bridges. It was a secret village. A haven for avian beast-kins.

And right now, it was a war zone.

Nearly two dozen heavily armed poachers had breached the sanctuary. They were shouting, throwing heavy iron-mesh nets, and trying to corner the terrified, fleeing Duck-kin villagers who were frantically pushing their elders and children toward the deep water to escape.

Lucien’s grip tightened on his daggers. He was about to step out of the shadows and slaughter every single mercenary in the cavern, but a sudden blast of raw wind magic stopped him in his tracks.

WHOOSH!

In the center of the grotto, standing protectively in front of a group of huddled duck-kin children, was a woman.

Lucien forgot how to breathe.

She was stunning. She had a messy, wild mane of golden-blonde hair—the exact same color as Pip’s—and a pair of magnificent, fully extended white wings that faded into shimmering, metallic silver at the tips. Her clothes were torn, her face was smudged with dirt, and she was breathing heavily, but she didn’t look like a victim.

She looked like a warrior queen.

Two massive bear-kin mercenaries charged at her, holding a heavy iron net between them.

The woman didn’t flinch. She planted her bare feet firmly on the glowing moss, her silver-tipped wings flaring outward. With a fierce, defiant shout, she swept her arms forward. A concentrated gale of wind slammed into the mercenaries with the force of a battering ram, throwing both massive men backward into the lake with a loud, satisfying splash.

"Get to the tunnels!" she yelled to the children behind her, her voice ringing out clear and commanding over the chaos. "Go! I’ll hold them off!"

Lucien stared at her from the shadows, his heart suddenly hammering a rapid, entirely unfamiliar rhythm against his ribs.

He was the Lord of Shadows. He had spent his entire life in the dark, cold and untouchable. He had expected to find a broken, terrified captive. Instead, he had found a fierce, breathtaking force of nature who was single-handedly fighting off a mercenary squad to protect her flock.

Oh, Lucien thought, completely captivated. That is where the boy gets it.

"Grab the silver-winged one!" a rough, ugly voice barked.

The poacher boss—a scarred hyena-kin holding a heavy crossbow—stepped out from behind a rock. He was grinning cruelly, pulling a second, grease-coated iron net from his belt. He was aiming right for her blind spot while she was distracted holding off the others. "She’s exhausted! Throw the net! I’m clipping those wings right now!"

The boss wound up his arm and threw the heavy, iron-mesh net directly at the woman’s back.

She turned, her golden eyes widening as she realized she didn’t have enough time to summon another gust of wind.

She braced herself for the impact.

But the net never hit her.

Lucien didn’t just step out of the shadows; he ripped through them. He materialized directly behind her, his dark suit absorbing the sunlight. He reached up with his bare, calloused hand and caught the heavy, spiked iron net right out of the air.

The heavy metal ground against his palm, but Lucien didn’t even flinch. He slowly lowered the net, dropping it onto the moss with a heavy thud.

The entire cavern seemed to freeze.

The woman spun around, gasping as she took a step back, her wings flaring defensively.

The poacher boss stopped laughing. He stared at the terrifying man who had just appeared out of thin air. Lucien slowly raised his head. His violet eyes weren’t just glowing; they were burning with absolute, lethal fury.

"You," Lucien whispered, his voice echoing perfectly through the cavern. "Are breathing my air."

The boss swallowed hard, raising his crossbow. "Kill him!"

Lucien vanished.

He didn’t fight like Rurik. There were no roars, no heavy, earth-shattering blows. Lucien was a ghost. He moved with a terrifying, fluid grace that the eye could barely follow.

He slipped through the ranks of the poachers like dark water. His daggers flashed—once, twice, three times. He didn’t use unnecessary force. He simply dismantled them. He severed crossbow strings, shattered kneecaps, and delivered precise, bone-crushing strikes that dropped the massive mercenaries to the ground before they even realized they were under attack.

In less than sixty seconds, twelve heavily armed poachers were groaning on the ground, completely incapacitated. The remaining mercenaries took one look at the glowing violet eyes of the Panther Assassin, dropped their weapons, and sprinted back down the tunnel in absolute terror.

Lucien didn’t chase them. Rurik and the guards were waiting at the tree line. The fleeing cowards would run right into the Wolf Warlord’s waiting axe.

Silence fell over the hidden sanctuary, save for the gentle splashing of the waterfalls. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Lucien slowly stood up straight, slipping his daggers back into their sheaths. He wiped a drop of poacher’s blood off his cheek with the back of his gloved hand. He turned around to face the beautiful, golden-haired woman.

He fully expected her to be terrified of him. He was a monster to most people. He was ready to reassure her, to tell her that she was safe.

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