Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 53: The Drawing and the Decoy

The morning rush at Little Whiskers was usually controlled chaos. Today, under Luna’s command, it was just... chaos.

"Vali! Do not eat the crayons! They are wax, not snacks!" Luna cried, hopping over a pile of blocks. "Jasper, please stop trying to unionize the cleaning golems! They don’t have souls!"

Luna’s ears were tied back with a scrunchie, and she had a smudge of ink on her nose. She looked frazzled, determined, and adorable.

Jax watched her from the corner near the pantry.

His hand was in his pocket, clutching the small, patched cap that belonged to his brother, Finn.

Burn it down, the voice in his head whispered. Just light a match in the flour storage. It’ll look like an accident. The Warlords will save the kids. No one gets hurt. And Finn goes free.

It was a simple trade. One bakery for one brother.

He took a step toward the pantry, his hand reaching for the flint in his pocket.

"Jax!" Luna called out, breathless. "Can you help Clover? She’s stuck in the high chair again!"

Jax froze. He looked at Luna. She was trusting him. She relied on him.

He cursed under his breath and walked over to the high chair. Clover had somehow gotten her foot wedged in the leg hole.

"Easy there, fluffer-nutter," Jax said, gently wiggling her foot free. "You gotta stop growing so fast."

Clover giggled, hugging her safety rock. "Thanks, Mr. Fox!"

Jax’s chest tightened. He looked around the room.

If he burned this place down... Clover wouldn’t have a safe place to hide. Luna would lose her dream. The Warlords would lose their sanctuary.

He felt sick.

He walked away, needing distance. He leaned against the wall near the art corner, staring at the floor, fighting the urge to vomit.

I have to do it, he told himself. For Finn. I have no choice.

A shadow fell over his boots.

Jax looked up.

Silas, the silent Panther cub, was standing there. The boy rarely spoke. He moved like smoke and observed everything with eerie eyes that seemed to see too much.

Silas didn’t say a word. He simply held up a piece of paper.

Jax took it. It was a crayon drawing.

It showed the daycare. There was a big, lopsided bunny (Luna) holding a clipboard. There were the other cubs. And standing in front of them, shielding them from a scary black scribble (representing monsters), was an orange figure with a bushy tail.

The orange figure held a sword.

Underneath, in messy child handwriting, Silas had written: The Guard Fox.

Jax stared at the drawing. His throat closed up.

He wasn’t the Guard Fox. He was the monster in the black scribbles. He was the one planning to burn their home.

Silas looked at Jax. He pointed to the orange figure, then pointed at Jax. Then he nodded once, solemn and serious, before melting back into the shadows.

Jax stood there, his hand trembling.

I can’t do it, Jax realized, the truth hitting him like a punch. I can’t destroy this.

He looked at the cap in his pocket.

But I can’t let Finn die. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

His green eyes hardened. The charm vanished, replaced by the cunning of a street survivor.

I need a third option, Jax thought, his mind racing. I need to save Finn AND save the daycare. I need to outsmart the Boss. I need to pull the biggest con of my life.

The Alleyway Across the Street

From the shadowed recess of a crumbling building, two pairs of eyes watched the daycare.

Gnash (the Hyena) spat a toothpick onto the cobbles. "Look at him. He’s staring at a drawing. He’s soft."

Krackle (the Vulture) adjusted his black cloak, his beady eyes narrowing. "The Boss said ’within the week.’ But the Fox is hesitating. If he fails, the Boss will skin us too."

"We need to motivate him," Gnash giggled, the sound like grinding glass. "We need to make him understand the stakes."

"Or," Krackle hissed, "We start the destruction ourselves. If we take one of the brats... the chaos will leave the shop undefended. The Warlords will scatter to find the kid. And while they are gone... we burn it."

Gnash’s eyes lit up. "A kidnapping? I love kidnappings! Who do we grab? The Panther is too slippery. The Wolf bites."

Krackle pointed a bony finger toward the back entrance of the daycare.

The door opened.

Luna stepped out to throw away a bag of trash. Trotting obediently behind her, holding a smaller bag of recycling, was Clover.

The little bunny girl was humming, happy to be helping. She was slow. She was gentle. She was defenseless without the Warlords around.

"The Rabbit," Krackle decided. "Soft target. High emotional value. If we take her, the heroes will panic."

"And Jax will snap," Gnash added, drooling slightly.

The Hyena and the Vulture moved. They didn’t walk; they skittered through the shadows, circling around the back of the building.

Inside the daycare, Jax was busy formulating a plan to save his brother.

He didn’t notice that Luna and Clover had gone outside.

The Alleyway

The back alley was cool and smelled faintly of rain and old brick.

"Okay, last bag," Luna said, tossing the recycling into the bin. She wiped her hands on her apron, her ears twitching in the twilight. "Good job, Clover. Primrose would be proud of your work ethic."

Clover beamed, clutching her empty recycling bag like a prize. "I like helping! Can I have a gold star?"

"Two gold stars," Luna promised, turning back toward the heavy metal door. "Come on, let’s go inside. It’s getting dark, and Vali gets cranky if he wakes up and I’m not there."

Clover bent down to pick up her safety rock, which she had set on a clean brick while she worked. "Okay! I’m coming—"

Crunch.

A heavy boot landed on the safety rock, grinding it into the dirt.

Clover looked up, her olive eyes going wide.

Towering over her was a creature that smelled like rotting meat and rusted iron. Krackle, the Vulture-kin, grinned down at her, his beak gleaming in the dim light.

"Found you, little rabbit," Krackle hissed.

"Hey!" Luna spun around, her prey instincts screaming DANGER. "Get away from her!"

She lunged forward, trying to grab Clover, but a blur of mangy fur slammed into her from the side.

Gnash, the Hyena-kin, hit Luna with the force of a battering ram. She flew backward, crashing into the trash bins with a loud metallic clamor.

"Stay down, Boss Bunny!" Gnash cackled, pinning her to the ground with a heavy claw.

"No!" Luna screamed, kicking and scratching. "Clover! Run!"

Clover opened her mouth to scream, but Krackle was faster. He threw a thick, enchanted sack over her head. The little bunny’s cry was cut off instantly as the magic in the fabric silenced her.

He scooped her up as easily as a bag of flour.

"Let her go!" Luna shrieked, managing to kick Gnash in the snout.

The Hyena yelped and stumbled back. Luna scrambled to her feet, desperate, ready to fight monsters twice her size.

But Krackle was already leaping up the fire escape, carrying the sack. Gnash sneered at Luna, spitting a broken tooth onto the pavement.

"Tell the Fox," Gnash laughed, his voice echoing down the alley. "Tell him the clock is ticking."

Gnash turned and vaulted over the fence, disappearing into the shadows.

Luna stood alone in the alley. Her uniform was torn. Her arm was bleeding.

And on the ground, crushed into the dirt, was Clover’s safety rock.

Inside the Daycare

The nap room was peaceful.

Vali was snoring softly, drool pooling on his pillow.

Arjun was sprawled on his back, limbs in four different directions.

Jasper was asleep with his glasses folded neatly on his chest.

Silas was curled up in the darkest corner, invisible to the naked eye.

Jax was standing by the window, staring at the drawing Silas had given him, wracked with guilt.

BANG!

The back door flew open, slamming against the wall with a violence that shook the room.

Jax spun around, his hand going to his hidden dagger.

Luna stumbled in. She was gasping for air, her hair wild, tears streaming down her face. She looked like she had been in a war.

"Jax!" she screamed, her voice breaking. "Jax, help!"

The room exploded into motion.

Vali shot up from his mat, his eyes flashing red, a low growl already rumbling in his chest. "Attack? Enemy?"

Arjun rolled over and fell off his cot with a thud. "What? Who’s yelling?"

Jasper sat up instantly, grabbing his glasses. "Situation report! Luna is injured!"

Jax rushed to Luna, catching her before she collapsed. "Luna! What happened? Who did this?"

He saw the bruise forming on her arm. He saw the terror in her eyes. His heart stopped.

"They took her!" Luna sobbed, clutching Jax’s shirt. "There were two of them... a bird and a hyena... they took Clover!"

The name hit the room like a bomb.

"Clover?" Vali froze. The sleepy fog vanished, replaced by the terrifying aura of a young Wolf Lord. "Someone took my Bunny?"

Jasper went pale. "Kidnapping. High probability of ransom or malice. We need our Dads."

Arjun started to cry, his stripes glowing faintly. "They took Clover? But... but she’s the smallest one! She can’t fight!"

But the scariest reaction came from the corner.

Silas.

The Panther cub didn’t make a sound. He didn’t cry. He didn’t shout.

He stood up slowly. The shadows in the room—the ones cast by the tables, the chairs, and the shelves—suddenly stretched toward him. They writhed like living snakes, responding to his silent rage.

His eyes were wide, the pupils narrowed to slits. He looked at Luna, then at the open door.

The ink-black darkness around Silas flared, cracking the window glass near his head.

Jax looked at the devastated room. He looked at Luna’s tears. He looked at the furious cubs.

And he knew.

It wasn’t a random attack. It was Gnash and Krackle. It was the Boss. They had done this to force him to burn the bakery.

They took her because I hesitated, Jax thought, a cold, poisonous guilt flooding his veins. This is on me.