Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 69: The Truth, The Threat, and The Treaty

The shock of Silas speaking hung in the air for a long moment, warm and heavy. Primrose kissed the Panther cub’s forehead, wiping a fresh tear from her cheek.

"I missed you too, Silas," she whispered. "And your voice... it’s perfect."

Silas nodded once, his eyes glowing with quiet satisfaction, before he slipped out of her grip and climbed back onto his shelf to watch the room from above.

Primrose stood up, composing herself. She smoothed her oversized green kelp-robe. She looked around the room, doing a final headcount. Her eyes landed on the one face she didn’t recognize—the fox boy with the patched cap standing next to Jax.

"And who," Primrose asked, her voice returning to its gentle but authoritative Head Chef tone, "is this handsome gentleman?"

Jax stepped forward, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

"This is Finn," Jax said, his voice unusually soft. "He’s my little brother. And... if it’s okay with the Boss... he’s a new admission."

Finn tipped his cap, flashing a grin that was equal parts charming and mischievous. "Nice to meet you, Lady Chef. I heard your cookies are legendary. I’m here for the education, but mostly for the snacks."

Primrose smiled warmly. "Welcome to the daycare, Finn. The first cookie is free. The rest you have to earn by washing your hands."

"Deal," Finn winked.

But as the pleasantries ended, Primrose’s smile tightened. She crossed her arms. She looked at the group of cubs who were trying very hard to look innocent.

"Now," Primrose said, the temperature in the room dropping slightly. "About those termites."

Vali whistled, looking at the ceiling. Arjun suddenly became very interested in his shoelaces. Jasper polished his glasses furiously.

"I want the truth," Primrose stated. "I was gone for a month. A Level 5 signal went off. A tower exploded. And you are all acting like you broke a vase. What happened?"

Luna, who was shaking behind the counter, opened her mouth. "Primrose! It was awful! They—"

Clap.

Jax moved instantly, his hand gently covering the bunny’s mouth.

"Luna," Jax whispered smoothly. "Remember the plan? Peaceful sleepover?"

"Mmph!" Luna protested against his hand.

Primrose narrowed her eyes. She didn’t look at Luna. She didn’t look at Jax. She turned her gaze to the one link in the chain that was made of pure sugar and honesty.

She knelt down in front of Clover.

The little bunny was clutching her Safety Rock, her long ears drooping nervously.

"Clover, my sweet," Primrose said softly, taking Clover’s small hands. "You don’t have to be scared. But you can’t lie to Prim. Did termites eat the tower?"

Clover’s lip trembled. She looked at Vali. She looked at Jax. Then she looked into Primrose’s amber eyes.

"No," Clover whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"Who did it then?"

"It was... it was a Hyena," Clover sniffled, the dam breaking. "And a Vulture! The bad man put me in a sack! And he took Finn too! He tied Finn up in the tower!"

Primrose’s blood ran cold. She looked up at Jax. The Fox’s charming smile vanished, replaced by a grim, hard line.

"They told Jax..." Clover sobbed, hugging Primrose’s neck. "They told Jax to burn the daycare or they would hurt Finn! But Jax didn’t do it! He and the other cubs came to save us!"

"And then?" Primrose rubbed Clover’s back, her heart hammering. "How did the tower fall?"

"The Tiger!" Clover pointed at Arjun. "Arjun got mad! Super mad! And he went ROAR! Like a big King! And the Bear went flying out the window! And the walls went CRACK! And then the ceiling fell down!"

Silence.

Primrose looked at Arjun. The little tiger was scuffing his foot on the floorboards, looking embarrassed.

"I didn’t mean to break the whole tower," Arjun mumbled. "Just the door. But... my voice got too big."

Caspian, who had been watching silently from the wall, let out a low breath. He looked at the small, striped boy.

"I am guessing that’s the Khan’s Roar," Caspian whispered to Primrose. "He leveled a fortress at age six?"

He shook his head, a look of genuine respect—and slight fear—on his face.

"Your children," Caspian murmured, "are something else."

Primrose stood up. She felt dizzy. Kidnapping. Hostages. Coercion. A magical awakening that destroyed a landmark. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Is everyone okay?" Primrose asked, her voice trembling. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"We are fine," Luna said, finally pulling Jax’s hand away from her face. She walked over and hugged Primrose. "The Dads came. They handled the rest. Everything is alright now, Primrose. Really."

Primrose let out a long breath she didn’t know she was holding. "Okay. Okay. You’re safe. That’s all that matters."

As the cubs went back to playing—Orion excitedly asking Arjun how he made the sonic boom—Jax walked over to Primrose.

He didn’t look like the playful spy anymore. He looked like a soldier delivering a report.

"Primrose," Jax said, his voice barely a whisper. "There’s something else. The Boss. The one who runs the Undercity."

"The one who blackmailed you?" Primrose asked, her eyes hardening.

"Yeah. But before the tower went down... He gave me a message. For you."

Primrose frowned. "For me? I don’t know any crime lords."

Jax leaned in closer, ensuring Caspian couldn’t hear.

"He said: ’Tell Primrose... that she cannot fix this world.’"

Primrose froze.

Jax continued, reciting the words that had haunted him for days. "’I know who she is. I know what she is hunting for. And I will burn everything she loves before I let her find the Truth.’"

A chill that had nothing to do with the ocean swept through Primrose.

Fix this world?

Hunting for the Truth?

Those weren’t the words of a random NPC villain. Those were the words of someone who knew the script. Someone who knew the world was broken.

Is the Boss another Player? she thought, panic flaring. Or a Transmigrator? Or maybe... something worse? Like the Void Residue taking a form?

"What kind of threat is that?" Primrose whispered, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I don’t know," Jax admitted. "But he knew your name. And he knew you were looking for something."

Primrose looked at the Sun-Pearl in her satchel. She was looking for the truth about the Operators. If this Boss knew that...

"Forget it for now," Primrose said firmly, pushing the fear down. She couldn’t deal with a shadow enemy today. She had a visible enemy to fight first. "We have bigger problems in the room."

She turned to the group.

"Alright, everyone! Lockdown mode!"

Jax flipped the lock on the front door. Silas pulled the blinds down.

Primrose walked to the center of the room. Caspian pushed himself off the wall and joined her. The purple veins on his neck were pulsating, visible now that he had stopped hiding them.

"We have two emergencies," Primrose announced to her chaotic little family. "First: King Caspian is sick. He was infected by... something bad... while saving me."

Vali looked at the grey cracks on Caspian’s skin. "The Sick Stone. It’s moving."

"Yes," Caspian admitted, his voice strained. "It is a corruption of the blood. My mana is holding it back, but I am running out of time."

"And second," Primrose continued. "Queen Morana—Caspian’s evil stepmother—has taken over the ocean. She is threatening to attack the Surface unless we can prove that the Land and Sea are allies."

Jasper adjusted his glasses. "The probability of a Land-Sea alliance is 0.04%. The hatred is historical and deep-rooted."

"Exactly," Primrose nodded. "Which is why we are going to change history."

She looked at the cubs.

"I need to call a meeting. Tonight. With your fathers."

Arjun gasped. "The Dads? All of them? In one room?"

Vali winced. "My dad usually tries to fight stripe’s dad."

"Not tonight," Primrose said, untying her wet kelp-sash and grabbing a fresh apron from the hook. "Because tonight, I am going to cook."

She looked at Caspian.

"We will heal the King. We will feed the Warlords. And we will force them to sign a Treaty."

"How do we heal him?" Luna asked, looking at the scary purple veins. "Do we need a doctor?"

"No," Primrose said, her eyes flashing briefly with a strange, golden light. "We need a purification ritual. And since I don’t have a wand..."

She walked to the kitchen and grabbed her favorite heavy-bottomed pot.

"...I’m going to use soup."

Caspian chuckled, leaning heavily on his trident. "You intend to cure a Void infection with broth?"

"I extracted a harpoon from a Kraken with jerky," Primrose retorted, tying her hair back. "Trust the Chef, Neighbor."

She turned to the cubs, Luna and Jax.

"Luna, preheat the oven. Jax, guard the door. Finn, wash your hands. Everyone else... set the table."

She looked at the clock.

"We have four hours before the Dads get here. Let’s get to work."