Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 81: The Panther’s Offer

The silence in Little Whiskers Daycare was heavy, but it was no longer terrified. It was the kind of silence that comes after a fever breaks.

Lady Ellia lay on the sofa, covered in a soft quilt that Luna had brought from the nap room. Her face was pale, scrubbed clean of the butter and grime, and she looked startlingly small. Without the screaming shadows and the violet eyes, she wasn’t a monster. She was just a little girl who had been carrying something far too heavy for far too long.

We sat in a vigil around her.

Arjun and Vali were sitting on the floor, their chins resting on the edge of the sofa, watching her chest rise and fall.

Orion was holding his clipboard, checking her vitals every thirty seconds. "She is breathing," he whispered.

Clover was holding Ellia’s hand, gently stroking her knuckles.

Jasper and Silas sat further back, looking solemn.

Finn and Jax were leaning against the wall, their usual playful fox grins replaced by grim expressions.

Luna was pacing the kitchen, stress-baking a second batch of muffins.

And in the darkest corner of the room, a shadow shifted. Duke Lucien was there. He had arrived silently just as the chaos ended, likely coming to pick up Silas, but he hadn’t said a word. He just stood there, his arms crossed, watching the broken pieces of the black gemstone on the floor with narrowed eyes.

Caspian sat in the armchair, looking exhausted. The resonance pain had faded, but the encounter had drained him. He offered me a tired, reassuring nod.

Suddenly, Ellia gasped.

Her eyes flew open. She sat up violently, clutching the quilt to her chest.

"No! Don’t—"

She froze. She looked around the room. She saw the concerned faces of the monsters. She saw the sunlight streaming through the window, no longer blocked by unnatural darkness.

She looked down at her left ankle. The heavy silver chain was gone.

"It’s quiet," she whispered. Her voice was trembling. "The voice... It’s gone."

I stepped forward, kneeling beside the sofa so I wasn’t towering over her. I brushed a damp curl of golden hair off her forehead.

"You’re safe, Ellia," I said softly. "We removed him."

Ellia looked at me. Her lower lip wobbled. Tears—real, human tears—welled up in her golden eyes.

"I... I tried to hurt you," she choked out. "I remember. I... I said... horrible things."

"That wasn’t you," Arjun said firmly, patting her knee. "That was the spooky anklet. I once broke a whole door because I was mad about nap time. We don’t hold grudges here."

"I am sorry," Ellia sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to be bad. He just kept telling me that everyone hated me. That Papa hated me."

"Oh, sweetie," Luna rushed over, abandoning her muffins to wrap the girl in a hug. "Shh. It’s okay. You’re safe now."

I waited until the tears subsided to a sniffle before I asked the question that had been burning in my mind.

"Ellia," I said gently, handing her a glass of water. "We need to know. Where did you get that anklet?"

Ellia took a sip, her hands shaking. "It was Mama’s."

A chill went through the room.

"Your mother’s?" I asked. "Duchess Seraphina?"

Ellia nodded. "She wore it all the time. She said it was a gift from a traveler. She said the black stone was pretty."

I looked at Caspian. He grimaced. A traveler. A Void Cultivator in disguise, handing out cursed jewelry to high-ranking nobles. It was a targeted attack.

Ellia’s expression darkened. She looked down at her lap.

She whispered. "The day after she died. He made a big fire in the courtyard. He threw her dresses in. Her paintings. Her hairbrushes. He burned everything."

She clenched her fists.

"I hated him for it. I thought he was trying to erase her. So... I stole it."

"You stole the anklet?"

"I snatched it from the pile before the fire touched it," Ellia confessed. "I hid it in my pocket. It was the only thing left of her. The only thing he didn’t destroy."

She looked up at me, her eyes pleading.

"I put it on because I missed her. And when I wore it... I could hear her voice. Or... I thought it was her voice. At first. Then it changed. It became Mr. Whisper."

My heart broke for her. A grieving child, trying to save one piece of her mother, unknowingly strapping a parasitic curse to her own leg.

But my mind was racing with something else.

Lord Bastion.

He burned everything. Not because of grief. Not because he wanted to erase Seraphina.

"He knew," I whispered.

The room went quiet.

"He knew the items were infected," I realized aloud. "That’s why he burned them. That’s why he locked himself away. He wasn’t just depressed. He was trying to contain the outbreak."

"The girl’s father," a silky voice came from the shadows.

Duke Lucien stepped forward. The Panther Warlord moved without sound, his presence cool and sharp like a blade.

"He must know a great deal," Lucien said, his dark eyes fixed on me. "If he identified the vector of the corruption and attempted a purge... then Lord Bastion is not merely a grieving widower. He is a man holding a secret."

I nodded. "He knows what killed his wife. And he knows it’s the Void. But instead of fighting it, or asking for help, he’s terrified. He’s let fear turn him into a coward."

I stood up, dusting off my knees. The fatigue vanished, replaced by a new wave of determination.

"I have to go back," I said. "I have to see him again. And this time, he isn’t slamming the door in my face."

"I will prepare the carriage," Jax said instantly.

"No," Lucien interrupted.

He didn’t raise his voice, but the word stopped everyone.

Lucien looked at me. He looked at the Warlords’ children. Then he looked at the door.

"You will not go alone, Primrose."

"I took Ellia out alone," I argued. "I can handle a conversation."

"This is not a conversation," Lucien said smoothly. "This is an interrogation of a high-ranking Imperial noble regarding dark magic and treasonous negligence. If Bastion panics, he has the Royal Guard at his disposal."

He pulled out his communicator.

"I will summon Rurik, Rajah, and Cassian. We will accompany you."

I blinked. "All of you? To the East Wing?"

"A full assault," Lucien nodded. "Or a diplomatic envoy. Depending on how quickly he opens the door."

"No," I said instinctively.

Lucien paused. His eyebrow raised, a rare expression for the stoic Panther.

"No?"

"I... I can’t take you guys," I stammered. I looked at Caspian, then back at Lucien. "This is... delicate. Bastion is already on the edge. If the Four Warlords show up in his office, fully armed, he’ll think it’s a coup. He’ll shut down completely."

"You have been relying on the Merman King often," Lucien observed.

His voice wasn’t accusatory, but it was heavy. He looked at Caspian, then back at me.

"You trust the Stranger from the Deep to watch your back," Lucien said softly. "You trust him with your secrets. You trust him with your safety."

He took a step closer to me.

"Why do you not trust us, Primrose? Have we not proven our loyalty?"

I felt a pang of guilt sharp enough to cut.

I looked at the others. Jax was watching me closely. Even the cubs seemed to be listening.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust them. I trusted Rurik with my life. I trusted Rajah to fight for me. I trusted Cassian to outsmart anyone. And Lucien... I trusted him to protect the dark corners.

But they were Warlords. They solved problems with swords, claws, and political power.

And Bastion... Bastion was a man paralyzed by terror.

If I bring the Warlords, Bastion will see them as a threat. He won’t talk. He’ll invoke his rank. He’ll call the Emperor. And then we lose the element of surprise.

But looking at Lucien’s hurt expression, masked as it was, I realized I couldn’t just brush them off. They felt left out. They felt like I was replacing them with Caspian.

"It’s not about trust, Lucien," I said, my voice softening. "I trust you with everything. You guys are my family."

I looked at Caspian, who gave me a small nod, understanding the dynamic.

"But Lord Bastion isn’t an enemy we can fight with claws," I explained. "He’s terrified. He’s been hiding in that room for a year, convinced that the darkness is going to eat him next. If you guys march in there, radiating power and judgment... he won’t speak. He’ll crumble."

I took a deep breath.

"I need to go in as a Nanny. Not a Warlord’s ally. I need to be the one person he doesn’t fear."

Lucien studied me for a long moment. His dark eyes searched mine, looking for any deception.

Finally, he sighed, a sound like wind through pine needles.

"Very well," Lucien conceded. "You may enter alone."

He tapped his communicator.

"But we will be in the hallway," he added, his tone leaving no room for argument. "If you do not exit in thirty minutes... or if we hear a scream..."

He flashed a smile that was terrifyingly sharp.

"...then we will remove the door. And the wall. And the Duke."

I smiled weakly. "Deal."

I turned to Ellia, who was watching us with wide eyes.

"Ellia," I said. "I’m going to talk to your dad. I’m going to tell him you’re safe. Is there anything you want me to say?"

Ellia touched her ankle, where the heavy silver chain used to be. She looked at the bruises on her arms from where she had thrashed.

"Tell him," Ellia whispered, her voice hardening with a resolve far beyond her years. "Tell him that I killed the monster. And if he’s still scared..."

She looked up at me.

"...tell him he’s a coward."

I nodded.

"I’ll tell him."

I grabbed my satchel. It was time to break down the Iron Wall.