Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 174: The Morning After the End of the World

The first thing Primrose felt was weight.

It wasn’t the crushing gravity of the Void Sovereign, nor the spiritual pressure of the Lion Ancestor. It was a warm, soft, breathing weight.

She opened her eyes.

She wasn’t in the desert anymore. She was lying in a massive four-poster bed with velvet curtains, bathed in the soft morning light of the Palace. The air smelled of healing herbs, sun-warmed linen, and... milk.

She tried to sit up, but she was effectively pinned.

Vali was asleep across her shins, snoring softly with his mouth open, looking very much like a human boy who dreamed of chasing rabbits.

Clover was curled up in the crook of her right arm, clutching her stuffed carrot doll.

Orion—in his human form, having lost his fins the moment he left the water—was sprawled out on the pillow next to her. His arm was thrown dramatically over Primrose’s forehead, and he was drooling slightly on her cheek.

Silas, the Panther Heir, was curled up in a tight ball at the foot of the bed. He was awake but silent, his violet eyes watching the door protectively, his small hand gripping the blanket.

Jasper was sitting upright in a cushioned chair next to the bed, asleep with a heavy book open on his lap. Pickles, the baby dragon, was coiled around his neck like an emerald necklace, blowing tiny smoke rings.

Arjun and Ellia were asleep on a thick rug near the hearth, holding hands amidst a pile of cushions.

And sitting in a chair by the window, looking like he hadn’t slept in three days, was Caspian.

He was peeling a pear with a small silver knife. When Primrose stirred, he froze. A long strip of peel fell silently to the floor.

"Prim?" Caspian whispered, his voice rough with exhaustion.

"Hey," Primrose croaked. Her throat felt dry, like she had swallowed the desert wind. "Did we win? Or is this the afterlife? Because if this is the afterlife, my lower back still hurts."

Caspian let out a breath he seemed to have been holding for an eternity. He crossed the room in two strides, moving silently so as not to wake the children. He sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb Vali, and gently lifted Orion’s arm off her face.

"We won," Caspian said softly, his teal eyes searching hers to make sure she was really there. "You obliterated him. The Void Core is gone."

"Good," Primrose whispered. She leaned her cheek into his palm. "How long was I out?"

"Three days," Caspian said. "The Imperial Healers said your mana channels were dry as a bone. You used enough energy to light up the entire Empire."

Primrose looked at the sleeping kids. "And they stayed here?"

"We couldn’t move them," Caspian smiled, a tired but genuine expression breaking through his worry. "Silas hissed at the Chief Healer when he tried to change your bandages. Vali threatened to bite anyone who made too much noise. They declared themselves your Royal Guard."

Primrose felt tears prick her eyes. She reached out and gently squeezed Silas’s foot. The stoic panther boy relaxed his guard instantly, closing his eyes to finally rest.

"They’re safe," she murmured. "They’re actually safe."

---

A loud crash echoed from the hallway, followed by a roar.

"Unhand that roast, you oversized rug!"

"I hunted it! By the laws of the jungle, it is mine!"

Primrose blinked. "Is that...?"

"Rurik and Rajah," Caspian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "They are in the recovery wing next door. Rurik is upset because the healers shaved a patch of his fur to stitch a wound. Rajah is offended by the ’invalid food’—broth and gruel—so he has been terrorizing the royal kitchens for meat."

The door to Primrose’s room creaked open. Princess Leonora poked her head in. She looked elegant as always, though her arm was in a silk sling.

"Oh, thank the Founders," Leonora exhaled when she saw Primrose awake. "You’re up. Please, tell your bodyguards to stop wrestling in the corridor. They knocked over a bust of my great-grandfather."

"I’ll handle them," Primrose groaned, trying to sit up.

The movement shifted the mattress.

"Auntie Prim!" Vali woke up instantly, scrambling up the bed.

"Primrose!" Clover squeaked.

Suddenly, Primrose was being hugged from seven different directions. Orion woke up and clung to her neck. Jasper dropped his book with a thud. Even Pickles let out a happy chime.

"Okay, okay! I’m alive!" Primrose laughed, being buried under a pile of heirs. "Personal space! Auntie needs oxygen!"

---

An hour later, having escaped the cuddle pile and eaten a bowl of rich stew, Primrose sat on the wide stone balcony of the infirmary.

The capital was battered, but beautiful. The Golden Dome was gone, shattered in the battle, but the natural sun was shining down on the white marble city. Repair crews were already working on the roofs, and the air felt lighter than it had in months.

The Warlords gathered around her.

Rajah had a bandage wrapped around his broad chest and was gnawing on a turkey leg he had successfully stolen. Rurik had a patch of shaved fur on his shoulder and looked sulky. Lucien was leaning against a pillar, flipping a dagger. Cassian—still in his mage robes—was checking Primrose’s vitals with a glowing crystal.

"Your core is stabilizing," Cassian announced, pushing up his spectacles. "Though the Silver Mana has permanently altered your physiology. You are now a high-frequency conductor. Do not touch any sensitive mana-crystals for a week, or you might accidentally detonate them."

"Noted," Primrose said. She looked at the group. "So... it is truly finished? The Sovereign is gone?"

"Erased," Jax said, leaning on the railing. "I checked the atmospheric readings with the ship’s sensors. No Void signature anywhere. The world is clean."

Everyone relaxed. Shoulders dropped. It was the first time in months they didn’t have a looming apocalypse hanging over their heads.

"Except," Primrose said quietly.

The mood shifted instantly. Everyone looked at her.

"Except for Grandma," Primrose said.

Caspian stiffened. "Ophelia."

"We left her in the Trench," Primrose said, her hands gripping the stone railing. "The tomb collapsed when the Void Kraken destroyed the foundation. She’s buried under miles of rock and water."

"Primrose," Lucien said gently, his voice low and soothing. "The Trench imploded. The pressure down there... even for a Divine Beast..."

"She is alive," Primrose insisted. "I can feel it. The Ninth Tail... it acts as a tether. She is sleeping again. But she is waiting."

She stood up, her eyes flashing silver for a split second.

"I promised I would go back for her. I am not leaving my ancestor in the dark."

Rurik cracked his knuckles. "Well, I hate swimming. And I hate deep places. But... she did throw excellent parties. And she is family."

"We go," Rajah agreed, tossing the turkey bone over the balcony. "We do not leave soldiers behind."