Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 13: The Aggressive Hiring Process

Primrose POV

The morning after the Dinner from Hell, I woke up early. I needed fresh ingredients for Vali’s Two-Wolf Stew and something colorful to distract Jasper from his brooding.

I locked the Little Whiskers Daycare and stepped out into the pre-dawn mist of the common district.

I made it exactly three steps.

A shadow moved. Not a person—a literal shadow. It peeled itself off the cobblestones and rose up in front of me.

Before I could even reach for my emergency pocket-pepper, a figure materialized. It was a Crow-kin with black wings (Vesper).

"Lady Primrose Thistle," he rasped. "My master requests your presence."

"I’m busy," I snapped, trying to step around him. "Tell your master to make an appointment. The waitlist is two weeks."

"My master," the Crow-kin said, "does not wait."

The world suddenly tilted.

I didn’t faint. I was engulfed. The shadows around me surged upwards like black water. It was a spatial magic I’d only read about in the Hard Mode lore—Shadow-Walking.

The street, the daycare, and the sunrise vanished.

I blinked.

The smell of damp cobblestones was gone. Instead, the air smelled of... expensive beeswax candles, old books, and silence.

I wasn’t outside anymore. I was standing in the middle of a room that was larger than my entire house. It was draped in heavy velvet curtains, blocking out all light.

"Welcome," a deep, smooth voice purred from the darkness.

I spun around.

Sitting in a high-backed velvet armchair, blending perfectly into the shadows, was the man from the rooftop. Duke Lucien Crepusci.

He was even more terrifying up close. He was tall, lean, and elegant, wearing black on black. His hair was the color of midnight, and his glowing violet eyes were fixed on me with an intensity that made me want to hide under a table.

"Where am I?" I demanded, my voice shaking only a little. "If this is a robbery, I spent all my gold on copper pots!"

"I do not want your gold," Lucien said, standing up. He moved like liquid smoke. "And you are in the Crepusci Estate."

"You... kidnapped me?"

"I collected you," he corrected, as if that made it better. "I saw you last night. With the Wolf. The Tiger. The Snake. They are... loud. Clumsy. They do not appreciate a rare treasure."

He stopped directly in front of me. He reached out a gloved hand and tucked a loose strand of silver hair behind my ear. His touch was possessive.

"I do not share," he whispered.

"I have a daycare to run!" I yelled, swatting his hand away. "I have clients! Vali is going to eat the furniture if I’m not there by nine!"

"Let him starve," Lucien said coldly. "You have a new client now."

He turned and gestured to the corner of the room.

I looked. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Huddled in the shadows, wrapped in a dark blanket, was a small boy. He had black hair and big, dull violet eyes. He wasn’t looking at me. He wasn’t looking at anything. He was just... existing.

Silas Crepusci. The Silent Cub.

"My nephew does not speak," Lucien said, the obsession in his voice shifting to a desperate, dark grief. "He does not eat. He does not play. The doctors say his mind is broken."

Lucien turned back to me, his violet eyes burning.

"Fix him," he commanded. "And until you do... you are never leaving this house."

Great. Just great.

I had tamed a Wolf with biscuits, calmed a Tiger with protein balls, and warmed a Snake with sous-vide eggs.

Now, I was trapped in a gothic mansion with a Yandere Duke and a traumatized Panther cub, and my only weapon was a ladle.

Four down. (Sort of).

This was going to be a very long day.

---

The morning sun hit the sign of the Little Whiskers Daycare, but for the first time in weeks, the sign said CLOSED.

Luna stood on the cobblestones, clutching her basket of carrots, her lilac bunny ears trembling. Beside her, little Clover was pulling on the locked door handle, her lip wobbling.

"Prim?" Clover called out, her voice thick with tears. "I’m hungry! I want soufflé!"

Then, the ground shook.

It wasn’t an earthquake. It was the arrival of the B.A.Ds.

Lord Rurik Jaeger strode up, Vali grumbling at his heels about wanting to wrestle. General Rajah Khanda marched in, Arjun vibrating with morning energy. Alistair glided silently into view, a bored-looking Jasper trailing behind him.

They all stopped. They looked at the CLOSED sign. They looked at the weeping bunny.

The temperature dropped about ten degrees.

"Where is she?" Rurik growled.

Luna squeaked, dropping her basket. Carrots rolled everywhere. She looked up at the three terrifying apex predators towering over her—a Wolf, a Tiger, and a Crane (representing a Snake)—and looked like she might faint.

"I... I don’t know!" Luna stammered, her olive eyes wide with terror. "I came early... the door was locked... and there were... shadows."

"Shadows?" Alistair’s black eyes narrowed sharply.

"Residue," Luna whispered. "Dark magic. Like... ink on the stones."

The three men exchanged a look. The rivalry evaporated, replaced by a cold, dangerous recognition.

"Crepusci," Rurik snarled, his lip curling. "That shadow-skulking thief."

"He took her?" Rajah’s voice boomed, his hand instinctively going to the hilt of his sword. "He kidnapped a civilian? From my patrol district?"

"He kidnapped our asset," Cassian’s voice corrected smoothly. The Archduke stepped out from behind Alistair (he had apparently teleported in, dramatic as always). "And my brother has not had his breakfast."

Jasper looked up, his face pale. "Prim... is gone?"

"Taken," Rurik corrected, his icy-blue eyes burning. "By a Panther who thinks he can hoard everything he touches."

"I will mobilize the legion," Rajah declared, turning on his heel. "We will tear his estate apart brick by brick."

"Too loud," Cassian said coldly. "Crepusci has wards. You’ll never get in. I will freeze his assets. I will starve him out."

"I’m going to break his door down," Rurik growled, cracking his knuckles.

They turned to their sons.

"Vali. Go home with Balthazar. Stay there," Rurik ordered. "Arjun. Return to the barracks. Do drills," Rajah commanded. "Jasper. Alistair will take you back. Read a book," Cassian dismissed.

The three men vanished in three different directions, intent on their separate, violent rescue missions.

They left three very confused, very angry cubs on the sidewalk.

That Evening

The Jaeger Estate was locked down. Balthazar was guarding the door.

Vali was pacing in his room. He picked up a pillow and bit it. It wasn’t satisfying. He missed the Food Lady. He missed the dough.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Vali’s ears swiveled. The noise was coming from his window.

He walked over and threw the latch.

A blur of gold and black swung in from the ivy trellis, landing in a perfect crouch.

"PERIMETER BREACHED!" Arjun Khanda whispered-shouted, striking a pose.

"Stripes?" Vali blinked. "How did you get past the guards?"

"Stealth mode!" Arjun beamed, dusting off his knees. "Also, I ran faster than them. We have a mission. Pack meeting. Come on."

"Pack meeting?" Vali perked up. "Are we hunting?"

"We are retrieving the Asset," Arjun said seriously. "Come on. The Snake is waiting."

Ten minutes later, the three most powerful heirs in the empire were huddled in the gazebo of the neutral public park between the noble districts.

It was an awkward meeting.

Jasper was wrapped in three scarves, shivering and glaring at them. "This is ill-advised. We are children. We lack resources."

Vali was chewing on a stick he found. "I can smell her. She smells like... spices. And fear."

Arjun was pacing back and forth, acting as the self-appointed commander.

"Okay, team!" Arjun clapped his hands. "Our dads are doing it wrong. We have to find Primrose now. Before the Panther eats her."

"Panthers don’t eat foxes," Jasper muttered, shivering in his scarves. "Usually."

"We have to work together," Arjun declared. "I have the energy. Vali has the nose. Jasper has the brains."

He paused, looking behind him. "And Trooper Clover has the supplies!"

From behind the broad back of the Tiger cub, a pair of long, trembling lilac ears popped up.

Clover stepped out. She was wearing a tiny backpack that looked like a carrot. She was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, her olive eyes wide with terror.

"I... I’m here," she squeaked.

Vali blinked. "You brought the snack?"

"She is not a snack!" Arjun defended, putting a protective hand on her shoulder. "She is Logistics! She has the snacks for us."

Clover patted her carrot backpack. "I... I brought carrots. And water. And... and a map of the sewers my dad uses for deliveries."

Jasper perked up. "Sewers? That is... disgusting. But highly tactical. The Panther’s guards won’t be watching the drains."

"Wait," Vali sniffed Clover. "Why are you shaking? It’s annoying."

"I’m scared!" Clover wailed softly. "It’s a Panther! He has big teeth! And... and shadows!"

"Why did you come then?" Jasper asked, genuinely confused. "It is illogical to enter a predator’s den if you are a prey species."

Clover sniffled. She gripped the straps of her backpack tight.

"Because..." she whispered, her voice trembling but stubborn. "Because Primrose makes the best soufflé. And... and she saved my big sister. So... so I have to save her!"

The three predator heirs went silent.

This tiny bunny, who was genetically hardwired to run away from everything, was standing there, ready to break into a Duke’s estate because of... loyalty (and soufflé).

Vali grunted. He walked over and poked Clover’s forehead with a clawed finger. "Fine. You stay in the middle. If the Panther tries to eat you... I’ll bite him."

Clover’s eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah," Vali kicked a pebble. "Nobody eats the Daycare Crew but us. And we’re not hungry right now."

"It is settled," Jasper sighed, placing his hand in the center. "The Team is assembled. Though we are statistically likely to be grounded for life."

"Hands in!" Arjun cheered.

Vali put his paw in.

Jasper put his pale hand in.

Arjun put his strong hand in.

And Clover, trembling, put her tiny paw on top.

"Break!" Arjun yelled.

"Wait," Jasper looked at the Tiger cub suspiciously. "Arjun. Vali’s estate is a barracks. My estate is a fortress. And Clover lives in the merchant district. How did you gather everyone in one night?"

Arjun blinked, his green eyes wide and innocent.

"Oh! I asked the butler!"

Vali frowned. "Balthazar? He wouldn’t tell you."

"No, my butler," Arjun grinned. "The old guy at my house? I told him I was going on a Top Secret Rescue Mission for the Nice Food Lady. He gave me a map, he drove the carriage to pick up Clover, and he told me which windows were unlocked at your houses. He said, ’Go get ’em, little Tiger.’"

Jasper stared at him. "You... simply asked?"

"Yeah!" Arjun shrugged. "He likes Primrose too. She sent him cookies last week."

Vali laughed, a sharp, barking sound. "The Food Lady feeds everyone. Even the spies."

"Alright," Vali said, dropping to all fours, his pink eyes glowing in the twilight. "I’ve got the scent. Clover, stay close. Follow me."

The Junior Search Party moved out.

The Wolf took point.

The Tiger took the rear guard.

The Snake watched the flanks.

And in the center, protected by three of the deadliest bloodlines in the empire, was a trembling Bunny with a carrot backpack.

Duke Lucien Crepusci had no idea what was about to hit his quiet, gloomy home.