Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Come Fetch Me? Try It.

As the chaos descended again—Rajah rushing to fan the Princess, Cassian complaining about the cleanup costs, Rurik scolding me for being reckless—I patted the Chimera’s head one last time.

It leaned into my touch, purring like a giant, scaly engine.

"Okay, big guy," I whispered. "Fun’s over."

I dumped the remaining Sun-Root Buns into a napkin and tied it into a bundle. I hooked it onto the Chimera’s goat-horn.

"Take this to-go," I ordered, pointing toward the deep woods. "Go back to your den. No eating hikers. No crashing picnics. And eat some leafy greens for that coat, you look terrible."

The Chimera looked at the bundle of food. It looked at me. It gave a three-headed nod of gratitude.

Then, with a swish of its snake-tail, it turned and lumbered back into the shadows of the forest, happily munching on a bun.

I stood up, dusting flour and dirt off my knees.

"You..." Lord Rurik Jaeger was suddenly right in front of me. He grabbed my shoulders, his grip tight enough to bruise, his icy-blue eyes wide with residual panic. "You are an idiot. A brave, suicidal idiot."

"I handled it," I said, trying to shrug him off (unsuccessfully).

"You fed a Chimera a pastry!" Rurik roared, shaking me slightly. "It could have taken your head off!"

"It has three heads, Rurik. It was confused. And hungry," I retorted. "Hunger makes beasts do crazy things. You, of all people, should know that."

Rurik opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it shut. He looked at the spot where the monster had vanished. "Hmph. Just... don’t do it again. My heart cannot take the stress."

"Your heart?" Archduke Cassian drawled, stepping over a broken picnic bench. "Please, Jaeger. You were ready to wrestle it. Lady Primrose simply saved us the cost of dry-cleaning dragon blood off our uniforms."

Cassian looked at me, his golden eyes gleaming with calculation. "Although, I must admit... your resourcefulness is becoming... alarming."

"HELP! THE PRINCESS IS MALFUNCTIONING!"

We all turned.

General Rajah Khanda was kneeling on the grass, holding the unconscious Princess Leonora in his massive arms. He looked genuinely terrified.

"She just collapsed!" Rajah yelled. "Is it poison? Is it a curse? Did the Goat-Head cast a spell on her?!"

"She fainted, you oaf," Duke Lucien’s voice whispered from the shadows of a tree. "Because you flexed."

"I WAS SECURING THE AREA!" Rajah defended. He looked down at the Princess. "She is so... small. Fragile. Like a bird."

He stood up, lifting her as if she weighed nothing. He cradled her against his chest, his expression shifting from panic to a fierce, protective determination.

"I must evacuate her to the medical tent!" Rajah announced. "Arjun! Fall in! We are escorting the VIP!"

Arjun saluted. "ROGER THAT, DAD! VIP SECURE!"

As Rajah marched off, looking like the cover of a romance novel carrying the swooning heroine, I saw Leonora’s eyelid flutter.

She peeked up. She saw Rajah’s jawline. She saw his arms. She let out a tiny, happy sigh and pretended to be unconscious again.

You go, girl, I thought. Get your man.

---

The picnic was officially over.

We packed up the Junior Search Party (who were disappointed they didn’t get to ride the Chimera) and headed back to the city.

The mood in the carriage was... heavy.

The Dads weren’t bickering anymore. They were watching me.

Rurik sat across from me, watching my hands.

Cassian sat beside him, watching my face.

Lucien sat in the corner (how did he get in here?), watching my shadow.

They had seen me cook. They had seen me teach. And now, they had seen me walk up to a monster and tame it with kindness (and carbs).

I wasn’t just a nanny anymore. I wasn’t just an asset.

I was a Wild Card.

"Lady Primrose," Cassian broke the silence as the carriage rattled over the cobblestones. "The First Snow Ball is approaching."

I stiffened. "I know."

"You have no tail," Rurik stated bluntly from across the seat. "The nobility will shred you. It is a hunting ground for the vicious."

"I know," I repeated, my hands tightening in my lap. I knew exactly who would be hunting me: Marquis Grieve. But the Dads didn’t know that part yet.

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