Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 232

Chapter 232: Building a Home

Caspian’s past life as a master architect rarely bled into his daily duties as the Merman King, but when it came to constructing a permanent settlement on our territory, his obsessive attention to detail was unleashed in its full, terrifying glory.

I walked down the stone path toward the eastern gardens, carrying a massive woven tray of warm blueberry scones and iced tea. The temporary canvas pavilions were already being dismantled. In their place, a true construction zone had emerged, buzzing with the chaotic, highly efficient energy of the Warlord pack.

Standing in the center of the clearing, holding a massive scroll of blueprints, was my husband. Caspian had his silver hair tied back, his sleeves rolled up, and a piece of charcoal tucked behind his ear.

"The structural load of the main canopy requires a tri-pillar distribution," Caspian lectured smoothly, pointing at the blueprint while Auntie Mae and a circle of Duck-kin elders looked on in absolute awe. "We are building elevated, multi-tiered nesting houses interwoven directly into the ancient oak and redwood branches. I have factored in the coastal crosswinds to create natural aerodynamic take-off platforms at every doorway."

Auntie Mae pressed her hands to her cheeks. "You are building us tree-palaces? With built-in flight decks?"

"I am building you a sanctuary," Caspian corrected gently, a warm smile touching his lips. "It must be structurally flawless and aesthetically worthy of the sky."

"Timber!" a booming voice roared from the edge of the woods.

*CRACK. BOOM.*

The ground shook as a massive, perfectly felled oak tree hit the dirt. Rurik emerged from the tree line, wiping sweat from his brow and grinning like a feral madman. He had his heavy battle-axe resting over his shoulder, having just chopped down enough lumber to build a small fleet of ships.

"The Northern Wolf provides the foundation!" Rurik cheered, flexing his massive arms. "I have chopped twenty trees! Do you require more? I can chop the entire forest!"

"Twenty is sufficient, you walking deforestation event," Cassian sighed, stepping out from behind a stack of freshly cut wooden planks.

The Archduke was wearing an immaculate white coat over his clothes, holding a glowing green runic crystal. He ran his hand over the lumber, coating the wood in a shimmering, protective magical seal. "I am treating the timber with a localized anti-fungal, moisture-wicking runic array. The coastal humidity will not warp the floorboards, and there will be absolutely zero risk of splinters."

"You are enchanting the wood so no one gets a splinter?" Juni asked, walking up beside me. She had a basket of woven reeds balanced on her hip, her golden hair tied back in a messy bun.

"Splinters lead to localized infections," Cassian stated, pushing his round glasses up his nose. "I refuse to let a microscopic piece of wood compromise my medical statistics."

Juni laughed, shaking her head. She looked up into the massive branches of the oak tree, where the real magic was happening.

Building houses fifty feet in the air usually required massive scaffolding, pulleys, and weeks of dangerous labor. But the Warlords didn’t use pulleys. They used shadows.

High up in the canopy, Lucien was standing perfectly balanced on a narrow branch. He didn’t look terrifying today; he looked like a master craftsman in his element. Down below, a massive, two-ton crossbeam was resting on the grass. The shadows beneath the beam suddenly swallowed it whole.

A split second later, a dark portal opened directly above Lucien in the tree canopy. The two-ton beam slid out of the shadows and dropped perfectly, silently, into the wooden support brackets with millimeter precision.

Lucien secured the beam with heavy iron bolts, moving with the fluid, deadly grace of an assassin applied entirely to carpentry. He looked down through the leaves, his violet eyes instantly finding Juni in the crowd. Even from fifty feet away, the soft, devoted smile he gave her made her wings flutter happily.

"They really are building us a home," Juni whispered, her golden eyes shimmering as she looked at the rising structures.

"Of course they are," I smiled, holding out the tray of scones. "You are family now. The canvas tents were never going to be permanent."

While the Warlords handled the heavy lifting, the cubs were executing their own highly coordinated supply chain.