Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 134: The Feast of Victory pt2

The feast lasted until the moons were high in the sky. But eventually, the carriages were brought around. It was time to go back to the Capital. The Little Whiskers Daycare couldn’t stay in the North forever.

The farewells took place in the courtyard, under the aurora borealis.

Rurik and Konrad stood face to face near the sleds.

"So," Konrad said, his breath puffing in the cold air. "You are leaving."

"Got a daycare to run," Rurik shrugged. "Can’t let the Fox handle all the brats alone."

Konrad looked at his younger brother. For the first time, he didn’t see the reckless failure he had exiled five years ago. He saw a Warlord. A father. A man who had built a family out of chaos.

"You were right," Konrad said quietly.

Rurik blinked. "About what? I’m right about a lot of things. My hair is great. My sword is cool."

"About the Shrine," Konrad interrupted. "About fear. I tried to lock everything away to keep it safe—Astrid, the secrets, you. But walls don’t keep monsters out, Rurik. They just keep help from getting in."

He extended his hand.

"You are always welcome here," Konrad said. "You, your son, and your strange, chaotic pack. Winter-Hold is your home."

Rurik looked at the hand. He grabbed it, pulling Konrad into a rough, back-slapping hug.

"Don’t get soft on me, brother," Rurik laughed, his voice thick with emotion. "And fix the heating. Seriously. It’s ridiculous."

Near the carriage, the kids were saying goodbye.

Vali was hugging Vivi so hard her face was turning blue.

"Bye Vivi!" Vali yelled. "Don’t get kidnapped again! If you see a shadow, bite it!"

"I will!" Vivi squeaked.

Astrid stood in front of Orion. She looked awkward. She was kicking the snow with her boot.

"So," Astrid said. "You’re going back to the ocean place."

"The Capital," Orion corrected. "Though we do go to the coast on weekends."

"Right," Astrid nodded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out something. It was a small, hand-carved wooden wolf. It was rough, clearly made by a child, but it had a little scarf painted on it.

She shoved it into Orion’s hands.

"Here," she grunted. "Souvenir."

Orion looked at the little wooden wolf. He ran his thumb over the painted scarf.

"This is... nice," Orion said, his cheeks turning a little pink. "Did you make this?"

"Maybe," Astrid crossed her arms. "I got bored during history lessons. Just take it."

Orion tucked it carefully into his pocket. He reached into his own bag and pulled out a small, smooth, glowing blue stone. A Sun-Stone from the southern reefs. It was warm to the touch.

"Take this," Orion said, handing it to her. "It stays warm. It’ll keep your hands from freezing on patrol."

Astrid took the stone. She squeezed it. It was like holding a piece of sunlight.

"Okay," she whispered. "Thanks."

"I’ll write you letters," Orion stated firmly. "I’ll tell you if your snow forts are structurally sound. So you don’t get crushed."

"I’ll send you diagrams of how to do a push-up," Astrid shot back, grinning. "So you don’t stay a noodle."

They looked at each other. A Warrior and a Scholar. A Wolf and a Fish.

"Bye, Astrid," Orion said.

"Bye, Orion," Astrid replied.

The sleds took off, gliding over the snow toward the southern pass where the carriages waited.

Primrose sat in the back of the lead sled, wrapped in furs, with Caspian beside her. Vali was asleep on Rurik’s lap in the front, snoring loudly. Orion was dozing against Primrose’s side, clutching his new wooden wolf.

The North was fading behind them. The jagged peaks of Winter-Hold looked peaceful under the starlight.

"We did it," Primrose whispered, leaning her head on Caspian’s shoulder. "We actually survived the family reunion."

"We did more than survive," Caspian said, wrapping his arm around her. "We conquered."

He looked down at her. His hand moved to stroke the magnificent white tail that was currently acting as a blanket for both of them.

"How does it feel?" Caspian asked softly.

"Weird," Primrose admitted. "It tingles. Like... like there’s too much energy inside it. It keeps twitching."

"It is powerful magic," Caspian mused. "The Frost Essence. It will take time to settle."

Primrose closed her eyes, listening to the runners hiss over the snow. She felt content. She felt whole.

But then...

She felt an itch.

"Ugh," Primrose muttered, shifting in her seat. "My back itches."

"Where?" Caspian asked, helpful as always.

"Lower," Primrose wiggled. "Right at the base of the tail. It’s... really annoying."

The itch didn’t stop. It got worse. It wasn’t a skin itch. It was a bone itch. A deep, vibrating sensation that felt exactly like...

Wait.

Primrose froze.

She remembered this feeling. She had felt it yesterday, right before the white tail popped out.

"Caspian," Primrose said, her voice rising in panic. "Caspian, look at my back."

"What is it?" Caspian asked, sitting up.

"Just look!" Primrose leaned forward, exposing the lower back of her dress (which was already torn, thankfully).

Caspian looked.

His eyes went wide. His jaw dropped. Even the unflappable King of the Ocean looked stunned.

"Primrose," he whispered.

"What?" she squeaked. "Is it a rash? Is it the Void?"

"No," Caspian said, his voice strangled. "It’s... fluff."

"Fluff?"

POOF.

With a soft, muffled sound like a pillow exploding, a second tail popped out right next to the first one.

This one wasn’t white. It was Silver. It shimmered like moonlight on water, sleek and metallic and beautiful.

Primrose stared at it. She wiggled her hips. Both tails—the massive White one and the sleek Silver one—swished in perfect unison.

"Two," Primrose squeaked. "There are two of them."

"The Shrine," Caspian realized, looking between the tails. "You didn’t just absorb the Frost Essence from Vali. You absorbed the latent magic of the Silver Wolf lineage from the crypts."

Vali woke up at the sound. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Primrose.

"Whoa!" Vali gasped. "Double tail! Nanny, you’re evolving!"

Rurik turned around from the front seat. He took one look at the two tails wagging behind Primrose and burst out laughing.

"Well, Fox," Rurik grinned. "Only seven more to go. At this rate, we’re going to need a bigger carriage."

Primrose groaned, burying her face in her hands as her two tails happily thumped against the seat.

"I’m going to need so many new pants," she whimpered.

Caspian just laughed, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head.

"We will buy you all the pants in the Empire," he promised. "Let’s go home."