Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-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.

"You need an escort," Rajah shouted through the window (he was still riding his horse alongside the carriage). "Someone to keep the vultures away! A show of force!"

"I will provide a shadow-guard," Lucien whispered from the corner. "They will not see the danger until it is too late."

"I will provide a dress that shames the Imperial treasury," Cassian offered, examining his nails. "Armor made of silk and diamonds."

"I will provide... myself," Rurik grunted, crossing his arms. "I will stand next to you. If anyone looks at you with disrespect, I will remove their eyes."

I looked at them.

The Wolf, the Snake, the Panther, and the Tiger.

They didn’t know about the Marquis, but they knew I was vulnerable. And they were offering to stand between me and the world.

For the first time since I woke up in this world, I didn’t feel like a failed fox running for her life.

I felt like the Alpha of a very strange, very dangerous pack.

"Thank you," I said softly. "I might take you up on that."

The carriage turned the corner toward the Little Whiskers Daycare.

I thought the day was over. I thought the drama was done.

But as the shop came into view, I saw something that made my stomach drop.

Stuck to the front door of my shop, pinned with a cheap iron nail, was a crude, familiar envelope.

My mood instantly soured. The warm, fuzzy found family feeling evaporated, replaced by the cold reality of my Hard Mode origins.

The carriage stopped. I stepped out.

"Wait," Rurik said, stepping out behind me. He sniffed the air, his lip curling. "I smell... desperation. And cheap cologne."

"It’s family business," I said quickly, turning to block the door. I forced a smile. "Really. Just a... bill collector. Boring stuff."

I looked at the four powerful men and their four tired cubs.

"Go home," I told them. "Take the cubs. They’re exhausted. Vali is asleep standing up."

Rajah looked at Arjun, who was indeed snoozing against the carriage wheel. "Very well. Strategy meeting adjourned!"

"We will return tomorrow," Cassian nodded. "Do not open the door to strangers."

"I watch the shadows," Lucien whispered.

They lingered for a moment, clearly sensing my tension, but they respected the boundary. One by one, they gathered their sons and departed. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I waited until the last carriage wheel rumbled away. The street was quiet.

I turned to the door and ripped the envelope off the wood.

I knew that handwriting. It was Uncle Barnaby.

I tore it open right there on the porch.

Primrose,

Enough is enough. We indulged this little tantrum of yours. We let you play shopkeeper in the mud. You have made your point.

But the First Snow Ball is approaching, and the Marquis is asking questions. He is not a patient man.

Come home immediately. Apologize to your aunt. We will forget this embarrassing episode and proceed with the arrangement.

Do not make us come fetch you.

-- Uncle Barnaby

I stared at the letter.

Indulged. Tantrum. Play shopkeeper.

They had no idea. They thought I was failing. They thought I was starving in a gutter, ready to crawl back and be sold to Grieve just to have a warm bed.

They didn’t know I had the Empire’s most powerful warlords on speed dial. They didn’t know I had more gold in my safe than their entire estate was worth.

"Come fetch me?" I read aloud, a cold laugh escaping my lips. "I’d like to see you try."

I didn’t even bother going inside to burn it. I crumpled the letter into a tight ball and tossed it into the nearby trash bin, right on top of a pile of potato peels.

Where it belonged.

I unlocked my door.

"Joke’s on you, Uncle," I whispered. "I’m not playing that game anymore."