Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 15: The Great Kitchen Siege.

Inside the kitchen, the chaos was muffled by thick stone walls. It was warm. It smelled like heaven.

I poured the thick, velvety hot chocolate into two mugs. I added a pinch of the toasted Moon-Sugar fluff on top.

"There," I whispered to the Silent Cub sitting on the counter. Silas was staring at the steam rising from the mug. His nose twitched.

"It’s just cocoa, Silas," I said softly. "It’s safe. It’s warm. It’s not a dark room."

I pushed the mug toward him. His tiny, trembling hand reached out to touch the ceramic handle. His violet eyes, usually so dead, flickered with a tiny spark of curiosity.

CRASH!

The kitchen door didn’t just open; it was obliterated. Splinters of expensive mahogany rained down like confetti.

"LADY PRIMROSE!" Rajah bellowed, storming in with his sword drawn, looking like a god of war.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Rurik roared, entering right behind him, claws out, looking ready to bite a building in half.

Cassian glided in through the dust cloud, his face a mask of cold fury, green magic crackling around his fingers. "This ends now, Crepusci."

And behind them, swinging a frying pan with terrifying enthusiasm, was Luna. "Un-hand her!"

THUMP!

At the exact same moment, the ventilation grate on the far wall popped off with a metallic clang.

"INCOMING!" Arjun shouted, tumbling out of the air vent in a roll. "Oof!" Vali landed on top of him. "Inelegant," Jasper critiqued, sliding out gracefully before Clover fell onto the pile with a squeak.

The kitchen was suddenly filled with an army of Dads, Cubs, a Bunny, and a frying pan.

Everyone froze. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

They looked at me. I was standing by the stove, unhurt, holding a whisk. They looked at Lucien, who was leaning against the counter, looking annoyed but not homicidal. And they looked at Silas, who was sitting on the counter with a mug of cocoa.

Silas jumped. His eyes went wide. He looked at the invading army. He looked at the sword, the claws, the magic, and the frying pan.

And then, he made a sound.

Hic.

The entire room went silent.

Hic.

Silas’s small body jerked. His eyes were huge.

Hic. Hic. Hic.

Lucien’s face contorted into a mask of pure, terrifying rage. Shadows erupted from his back, turning the kitchen dark.

"Who did this?!" he hissed, his voice vibrating with power. "You frightened him! He is reacting! I will kill you all!"

Rajah raised his sword. Rurik growled. Cassian’s magic flared.

"STOP!" I shouted, slamming my whisk onto the counter.

The sound cut through the magical tension like a knife.

"He’s not dying, you idiots!" I snapped. "He has hiccups! It’s a diaphragm spasm caused by a sudden intake of breath! Stop trying to murder each other!"

Lucien blinked, the shadows receding slightly. "Hiccups?"

"Yes! He was startled! Because you all broke down the door!" I marched over to Silas, ignoring the three terrifying B.A.D.s. "It’s okay, Silas. Breathe."

Silas hiccuped again, looking terrified.

Before I could do anything, a small figure marched forward. Clover.

The tiny bunny ignored the Wolf Lord. She ignored the Tiger General. She walked right up to the counter, climbed onto a stool, and patted Silas’s trembling hand.

"Don’t be scared," Clover whispered, her voice shaking but determined. "They’re loud, but they’re just... Dads. Here."

She reached into her carrot backpack and pulled out a slightly squashed Calming Biscuit.

"Prim made this," Clover said. "It fixes everything. Even hiccups. Probably."

Silas looked at the bunny. He looked at the biscuit.

Hic.

He took the biscuit.

"We are sorry we scared you," Clover added softly.

Silas looked at her. And for the first time in six months, a tiny, shy smile touched his lips.

I let out a long breath. Crisis averted.

Then, I turned slowly to face the "Rescue Team."

My glare was at full power.

"You," I pointed my whisk at Rurik, who actually flinched. "You broke the door."

"It was locked," Rurik muttered, looking away.

"And you," I pointed at Rajah. "Swords in a kitchen? That is a health code violation."

Rajah sheathed his sword, looking sheepish. "I... was concerned for your safety."

"And you," I pointed at Cassian. "You let them do it."

Cassian brushed invisible dust off his sleeve. "I attempted to mitigate the damage. Unsuccessfully."

Then I turned my glare to Luna.

"And you?" I asked, my voice rising in disbelief. "A frying pan? Really? You brought a frying pan to a magical duel?"

Luna lowered the pan, her ears drooping. "I... I wanted to help! They said you were kidnapped!"

"I wasn’t kidnapped," I sighed. "I was... aggressively headhunted."

I looked down at the pile of cubs. Vali, Arjun, and Jasper were trying to look innocent. They were covered in soot from the vent.

My expression softened. I couldn’t yell at them. They had crawled through a ventilation shaft for me.

"As for you lot," I said, crossing my arms. "Go wash your hands. All of you. If you broke into my kitchen, you’re helping with the dishes."

"Yes, Chef!" Arjun cheered. "Fine," Vali grumbled. "Acceptable," Jasper nodded.

I looked back at Lucien, who was staring at Silas and Clover with an expression of stunned wonder.

"Well, Duke Crepusci," I said, picking up the tray of cocoa. "The hiccups are gone. The silence is broken. And now you have a kitchen full of guests."

I smiled, a tired but victorious smile.

"I hope you have enough cups."

The kitchen was warm, smelling of chocolate and Moon-Sugar, but the air around the adults was colder than a deep freezer.

While I ladled hot cocoa into mugs, the Four B.A.D.s stood in a tense, silent square, measuring each other up.

Lucien was leaning against his ruined doorframe, staring at Rurik with unblinking violet eyes. Rurik was glaring back, picking a splinter of mahogany out of his uniform sleeve. Rajah was standing with his chest puffed out, hand still resting on his sword hilt, looking ready to duel. Cassian was inspecting a speck of dust on his cuff, radiating an aura of supreme boredom that was somehow more insulting than the Wolf’s growl.

The magical pressure in the room was intense enough to curdle milk.

Luna tugged on my apron, her bunny ears trembling so hard they were blurring.

"Primrose," she hissed, her voice a terrified squeak. "The air... it’s vibrating. The Wolf Lord looks like he wants to bite the Panther Duke. And the Tiger General is glowing. Is this... is this a political incident? Should we evacuate?"

"Ignore it," I said calmly, dumping a generous amount of marshmallows into a mug.

"Ignore it?!" Luna whispered. "They are the four pillars of the Empire! They are about to destroy the kitchen!"

"They’re not pillars right now, Luna," I said, handing her a tray. "They’re just dads having a measuring contest. It’s fine. Take this to Rurik. If his mouth is full of chocolate, he can’t growl."

While the dads engaged in a silent staring contest, the Junior Search Party was huddled around the sink, scrubbing soot off their faces.

Arjun, vibrating with adrenaline, splashed water everywhere.

"Did you see that?" Arjun cheered, wiping his face with his sleeve. "The vent entry? Flawless! We were like shadows! Like ninjas!"

"We were like dust bunnies," Jasper corrected, delicately washing his pale hands with a bar of expensive soap. "My allergies will be flaring for a week. This was highly unsanitary."

Vali shook his head like a wet dog, spraying water all over Jasper. "It was awesome! Did you see the Bird-Man’s face? He was so scared of the carrot!"

"He was confused," Jasper sighed, drying his face. "There is a difference."

Clover, who was standing on a stool to reach the sink, turned to the silent boy beside her.

"Are you okay, Silas?" she asked softly.

Silas stood there. He was still holding the biscuit Clover had given him. He looked at the chaotic Tiger, the wet Wolf, and the prissy Snake.

He nodded. A tiny, jerky movement.

"I’m Arjun!" the Tiger cub announced, thrusting a wet hand at Silas. "I’m the team leader! Vali is the muscle! Jasper is the brain! Clover is the supply chain! And you..."

Arjun paused, looking at the quiet boy. "You’re the... Objective! Mission Accomplished!"

Silas blinked. He looked at Arjun’s hand. Slowly, he reached out and shook it.

"He has a good grip," Vali assessed, sniffing Silas. "He smells like shadows. And cocoa."

"He is quiet," Jasper approved. "I like him. He does not yell."

"Do you want to join the Little Whiskers Daycare?" Clover asked, her eyes shining. "Prim makes the best food. And we play games. Usually we don’t break into houses, though."

"Speak for yourself," Vali grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "I break into houses all the time."

Silas looked at the group of misfits. He looked at the cookie in his hand. Then, he looked over at me.

I smiled at him from across the room.

Silas looked back at Clover. He didn’t speak, but he took a bite of the biscuit.

"He’s in!" Arjun cheered, throwing an arm around the Panther cub’s shoulders. "Welcome to the squad, recruit!"

The tension at the adult table shattered as Rurik finally snapped.

"Crepusci," the Wolf Lord growled. "Your cocoa is adequate. But your door was weak."

"My door was mahogany," Lucien replied, his voice silky and dangerous. "It was worth more than your entire wardrobe, Jaeger."

"Gentlemen, please," Cassian sighed, sipping his drink. "Let us not discuss property values. It is vulgar. We are here for... the children."

"And the soufflé!" Rajah added helpfully, his mouth full of marshmallows.

I watched them. The Dads were bickering. The Cubs were bonding. And I, the failed Fox-kin, was standing in the center of it all, holding the ladle.

Five cubs, I thought. And four dads.

I just needed to figure out how to get to the Merman King.