Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Courted by Catastrophe III

The cubs looked at the chaos. Primrose was currently running between the grill (saving the meat), the table (cleaning the melon), and the cooler (hiding the liver).

"She is doing everything," Jasper noted. "This is inefficient."

"She needs backup!" Arjun declared.

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

It wasn’t Rajah. It wasn’t Rurik.

The birds in the forest went silent. The wind stopped.

A low, guttural roar echoed from the deep woods. It didn’t sound like a regular beast. It sounded like... hunger.

Vali’s ears flattened. "That’s not a wolf."

Arjun stood up, hair bristling. "That’s not a tiger."

Jasper hissed. "That... is a Chimera."

A massive shape crashed through the trees at the edge of the clearing. It was a nightmare—part lion, part goat, part snake, and entirely enraged. It was drooling, its eyes glowing with a magical madness.

And it was looking right at the Little Whiskers Daycare picnic.

"DANGER!" Rurik roared, drawing his sword.

"CONTACT FRONT!" Rajah bellowed, his aura flaring.

"Shields!" Cassian commanded, a green barrier snapping into place.

Lucien dissolved into shadows, blades appearing in his hands.

But the Chimera didn’t charge the men.

It charged the source of the most delicious smell in the forest.

It charged Primrose, who was holding a tray of freshly baked Sun-Root Buns.

"PRIM!" the cubs screamed in unison.

The Chimera was a biological disaster. It had the head of a lion (roaring), the head of a goat (bleating), and a snake for a tail (hissing). It was massive, smelly, and barreling toward me like a freight train made of teeth and bad decisions.

I stood frozen, clutching the tray of Sun-Root Buns to my chest.

Run, Primrose! my brain screamed. Save the buns! They took three hours to proof! my chef heart argued.

Before the monster could reach me, the world exploded into action.

"GET BACK!" Lord Rurik Jaeger roared. He didn’t draw a weapon; he became the weapon. He leaped between me and the beast, catching the Chimera’s lion-paws on his forearms. His boots dug furrows into the earth as he held back two tons of angry monster with pure brute strength.

"FLANK LEFT!" General Rajah Khanda bellowed. The Tiger General blurred into motion, his massive sword flashing. He didn’t strike to kill; he struck the flat of the blade against the goat head’s snout, disorienting it. "BACK, BEAST! THE LADY IS OFF THE MENU!"

Archduke Cassian Argentis flicked his wrist. A shimmering green barrier snapped into place around the children, sealing them (and a terrified Luna) in a protective bubble. "Alistair! Secure the perimeter!"

Duke Lucien Crepusci vanished. A split second later, shadows erupted from the ground, wrapping around the Chimera’s legs like black chains, pinning it down.

It was an impressive display of the Empire’s might. The four rivals were working together perfectly.

Except... they were scaring the poor thing to death.

The Chimera thrashed, terrified by the Wolf’s growl, the Tiger’s shout, and the binding shadows. The Snake-tail lashed out blindly, knocking over the picnic table.

CRASH.

My Savory Muffins went flying.

The Chimera’s three heads stopped fighting the men. All three pairs of eyes locked onto a rolling muffin.

The Lion head whined. The Goat head bleated sadly. The Snake head flicked its tongue.

My Top Chef brain finally processed the data.

Ribs showing through the fur.

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