Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 133: The Feast of Victory

The Next Morning.

If war was loud, peace was absolutely deafening. Especially when that peace involved feeding an entire fortress of starving Wolf Kin.

Primrose stood in the center of the Winter-Hold kitchens, which were currently hotter than a volcano and twice as chaotic.

"More garlic!" Primrose shouted, pointing a ladle like a general’s baton. "And somebody grab that roast before it burns! If the crackling isn’t crispy, I’m going to cry!"

"Yes, Chef!" three burly wolf soldiers shouted in unison, scrambling to obey.

Usually, the kitchen staff would be terrified of an outsider taking over. But after rumors spread that the Fox Lady had purified the Shrine and dragged their children out of the Void, nobody questioned her. Also, the smell coming from her pots was enough to make a grown wolf weep.

Primrose wiped sweat from her forehead. She turned to chop some root vegetables, but her body moved faster than her new appendage.

SWISH.

Her massive white tail knocked a bowl of potatoes off the counter.

"Oh, come on!" Primrose groaned, scrambling to catch them.

"Need a hand?"

Caspian leaned against the doorframe. He looked much better after a few hours of rest and healing magic. He was dressed in a fresh, deep blue tunic that matched his eyes, and he was watching her struggle with an amused smile.

"I need a tail-tamer," Primrose huffed, kicking a potato back under the table. "This thing has a mind of its own. It’s like having a very large, very fluffy cat glued to my butt."

Caspian chuckled, walking over. He picked up the bowl and set it back on the counter.

"It seems happy," he observed.

"It’s knocking everything over!"

"It’s wagging," Caspian corrected gently. "You’re happy, Prim. So your tail is happy."

Primrose paused. She looked behind her. Sure enough, the big white plume was swishing back and forth in a cheerful, rhythmic beat.

"I guess I am happy," she admitted, leaning into him for a second. "Everyone is safe. Vali is okay. And the food smells amazing."

"It does," Caspian agreed, stealing a piece of diced carrot. "But Rurik is pacing in the hall. He says if you don’t serve dinner in five minutes, he’s going to start eating the furniture."

Primrose laughed. "Tell the Big Bad Wolf to sit. Dinner is served." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The feast was legendary.

Long tables stretched from one end of the Great Hall to the other, groaning under the weight of the food. Primrose had gone all out, using the hearty Northern ingredients to create a meal that warmed the soul.

There were whole roasted boars with skin so crispy it shattered like glass. There were giant pots of Kimchi Jjigae—the spicy stew that had saved Vali—bubbling red and angry. There were mountains of mashed root vegetables swimming in butter and herbs, and baskets of steaming bread.

The noise was incredible. Wolves didn’t eat quietly. They ate with gusto, tearing into meat, laughing, clinking mugs of ale, and howling songs that shook the rafters.

At the High Table, the mood was lighter than it had been in decades.

Marquis Konrad sat at the head, looking less like a statue and more like a tired but content dad. Duchess Freya sat beside him, looking elegant even as she demolished a spicy rib.

"This spice," Konrad gasped, wiping his eyes after a spoonful of stew. "It hurts. But I cannot stop eating it. Is this sorcery?"

"It’s flavor, brother," Rurik laughed from across the table. He had a drumstick in one hand and a tankard in the other. "You’ve been eating dried meat and sadness for too long. This is what real food tastes like."

Konrad grunted, taking another bite. "I suppose... we should hire a better cook. Or perhaps kidnap Lady Primrose."

Caspian lowered his fork. The air around him dropped ten degrees.

"I would advise against that," the Merman King said, his voice silky and dangerous.

Konrad actually chuckled. A dry, rusty sound. "A joke, Your Majesty. I value my life too much to steal your mate."

Primrose blushed, hiding her face behind her goblet. Her tail gave a happy thump-thump against the back of her chair.

Down at the lower end of the hall, the children were having their own party.

Vali was the king of the table. He was currently recounting his "battle" in the web to a group of wide-eyed wolf pups.

"...and then I bit the shadow!" Vali shouted, waving a fork. "And it tasted like... like old socks! But I didn’t care! I was super strong!"

"You were asleep," Astrid corrected him from across the table. She was cutting her steak with military precision. "You were drooling."

"I was meditating!" Vali argued. "It’s a warrior technique!"

"Sure," Astrid rolled her eyes, but she pushed her plate of extra rolls toward him. "Here. Eat. You’re still too skinny."

Orion sat between them, looking very small in the giant wooden chair. He was wearing his scarf, plus the heavy fur cloak Astrid had lent him earlier. He looked like a turtle peeking out of its shell.

"This place is too loud," Orion mumbled, covering one ear while he chewed a potato. "Everyone is shouting. It’s bad for the eardrums."

"It’s a party, fish-boy!" Vali slapped him on the back. "Live a little! Eat a rib!"

"I’m pacing myself," Orion said seriously. "If I eat too much fat, I’ll float. It makes swimming really annoying."

Vivi, the little redhead girl who had been rescued, tugged on Astrid’s sleeve.

"Is he really a Prince?" Vivi whispered, looking at Orion. "He looks... squishy."

Astrid slammed her knife down. It stuck into the table.

"He is squishy," Astrid declared, glaring at anyone who might disagree. "But he’s smart. And he climbed a mountain to save us. So nobody picks on the fish. Got it?"

The other wolf kids nodded quickly. Nobody argued with Astrid when she had a knife.

Orion looked at Astrid. He didn’t have glasses to adjust, so he just pulled his scarf up a little higher, hiding a small smile.

"Thanks, Astrid," he said quietly. "Your perimeter defense is... appreciated."

"Whatever," Astrid huffed, stabbing a potato. "Just don’t get used to it."