Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 120: Cousin Rivalry

The adults didn’t waste any time.

"We need to brief Konrad immediately," Duchess Freya said, adjusting her sword belt. Her white wolf ears twitched with urgency. "He’s in the War Room. Rurik, Caspian, Primrose... come with me."

Primrose hesitated, looking down at the two boys.

Vali was currently vibrating with energy, poking a suit of armor to see if it would bite back. Orion was standing perfectly still, wrapped in so many scarves he looked like a teal caterpillar.

"Will they be okay?" Primrose asked.

"I will monitor them," Lady Astrid announced. She stepped forward, puffing out her chest. She stood stiffly, her hand resting on the pommel of her wooden practice sword. "I have been trained in perimeter defense. I can guard two civilians."

"I am not a civilian!" Vali protested, puffing out his own cheeks. "I am a Warlord! I wrestled a lobster!"

Astrid looked at him with profound disappointment. "A lobster. Impressive. I killed a snow-rat the size of a dog this morning."

Vali’s mouth dropped open. "Whoa. Cool."

Lord Rurik knelt down. He grabbed Vali by the shoulder, looking him dead in the eye.

"Listen to me, pup," Rurik grunted. "This is enemy territory. Do not break anything valuable. Do not bite your cousin. And if you fight..." Rurik leaned in, whispering loudly, "...win."

"Rurik!" Primrose hissed. She knelt down and straightened Orion’s scarf. "Orion, keep Vali out of trouble, okay? Use your brain."

"Affirmative," Orion mumbled, his teeth chattering slightly. "I will apply logic to the situation."

"Good boys." Primrose kissed them both on the forehead.

Then, the adults turned the corner and vanished toward the War Room, leaving the three children alone in the drafty stone corridor.

Silence stretched for ten seconds.

Astrid stared at them. She had her mother’s intense yellow eyes and her father’s permanent scowl. At eight years old, she carried herself like a forty-year-old general who was tired of everyone’s incompetence.

"Alright," Astrid barked. "Rules of engagement. One: Do not touch the walls; they are historic. Two: Do not make noise; this is a place of discipline. Three: Stay exactly where you are while I finish my patrol."

She turned her back on them and began to march down the hall.

Vali blinked. "Is she joking?"

"I don’t think she knows how to joke," Orion observed, shuffling his feet to keep warm. "She seems... highly stressed."

Vali didn’t listen. He ran after her.

"Hey!" Vali shouted. "Hey, Cousin! Wait up!"

Astrid stopped and spun around. "Silence! You will alert the enemy!"

"What enemy?" Vali looked around excitedly. "Is the Void here? Can I bite it?"

"The enemy could be anywhere," Astrid hissed. "Spies. Assassins. Snow-Rats."

She looked at Vali’s clothes—a comfortable, high-quality tunic from the Capital. She sneered.

"Go back to your room, little wolf. You’ll just get in the way. You smell like soap and weakness."

Vali frowned. He sniffed his own sleeve. "I smell like strawberries! It’s the shampoo!"

"Exactly," Astrid scoffed. "Soft."

She turned to look at Orion. Or rather, she looked through him.

"You," she pointed at Vali. "Stay."

"What about him?" Vali pointed at Orion.

Astrid didn’t even acknowledge the Jioaren Prince. To her, the shivering, scarf-wrapped boy wasn’t a threat, a warrior, or even a wolf. He was just luggage.

"Luggage stays with the owner," Astrid said dismissively. "Move it, or I’ll have you detained."

Orion blinked. He stepped forward, trying to be diplomatic.

"Excuse me," Orion said, his voice polite despite the cold. "I am Prince Orion. It is nice to meet you. Do you have a heating system in this fortress? Because the ambient temperature is—"

Astrid turned on her heel and walked away.

Orion stood there, his hand half-raised. He lowered it slowly.

"She... she muted me," Orion whispered, looking hurt. "She treated me like background noise."

Vali’s eyes narrowed. His tail, which had been wagging, went still.

Nobody ignored his brother.

"Hey!" Vali yelled, sprinting after her.

He didn’t stop this time. He ran right past her, slid on the stone floor in his socks, and blocked her path. He spread his arms wide.

"You’re rude!" Vali announced.

Astrid stopped. Her hand twitched toward her wooden sword. "Move."

"No," Vali grinned, showing his sharp canines. "I’m bored. And you’re boring. Rurik said this place is tough, but you’re just walking around looking at walls."

"I am patrolling!" Astrid yelled, her composure cracking. "I am the Heir! I have responsibilities!"

"You’re just walking!" Vali argued. "Let’s do something real. Let’s wrestle!"

"I do not wrestle," Astrid said icily. "It is undignified."

"You’re scared you’ll lose," Vali taunted. He did a little hop from foot to foot, like a boxer. "Soft city wolf? Ha! I bet I can pin you in five seconds."

Astrid’s eye twitched. The Soft City Wolf comment had clearly hit a nerve.

"You think you can beat me?" Astrid stepped forward, towering over him by a good four inches. "I have been training since I could walk. You probably have someone cut your meat for you."

"I eat meat off the bone!" Vali barked. "Come on! Fight me! Or are you a scaredy-cat?"

"I am a Wolf!" Astrid roared.

She drew her wooden practice sword.

"Vali, no," Orion called out from down the hall, waddling toward them in his blanket cocoon. "This is a statistically bad idea. She has a weapon. You have... socks."

"Formation A!" Vali yelled.

Vali didn’t wait for the duel to start. He launched himself at her.

He didn’t use technique. He used pure projectile motion. He head-butted Astrid in the stomach.

"Oof!" Astrid grunted, doubling over.

But she was disciplined. She grabbed Vali by the back of his tunic and threw him.

THUD.

Vali skidded across the stone floor, laughing maniacally.

"Again!" Vali cheered.

He scrambled up and ran toward a side door that led to an open-air balcony covered in snow. Astrid chased him, furious.

"Get back here, you little pest!"

They burst out onto the snowy balcony. The wind howled, but neither of them cared.

Vali dove into a snowbank, rolled, and sprang up, throwing a snowball right at Astrid’s face.

SPLAT.

It hit her square in the nose.

Astrid froze. She wiped the snow from her face. Her yellow eyes were glowing.

"You are dead," she whispered.

She dropped her sword. She didn’t need it. She tackled him.

They went down in a tangle of grey and white limbs. It wasn’t a clean fight. It was a messy, rolling brawl. Astrid was trying to use proper grappling holds, but Vali was fighting like a feral badger—biting her wrist, pulling her hair, and tickling her ribs.

"Yield!" Astrid shouted, trying to pin him. "Yield, you savage!"

"NEVER!" Vali howled, kicking her in the shin. "I AM THE ALPHA OF THE PLAYGROUND!"

Orion stepped onto the balcony. The wind hit him, and he shivered violently, his teeth chattering like castanets.

"Guys," Orion called out, his voice thin in the wind. "This is counter-productive! You are expending necessary calories! And... and you’re getting wet!"

He walked over, trying to pull Astrid off Vali.

"Excuse me," Orion said, tapping Astrid’s shoulder. "Please release the subject. He is an idiot."

Astrid didn’t even look at him. She just shoved her elbow back, catching Orion in the chest and knocking him into a pile of snow.

"Stay out of it, fish!" she snapped.

Orion sat in the snow. He looked at his wet mittens. He looked at the two wolves trying to kill each other.

"Okay," Orion whispered, narrowing his eyes. "Now I’m annoyed."

After five minutes of rolling around, both wolves were exhausted, panting, and covered in snow. Astrid had a bruise on her cheek. Vali had a bloody lip, but he was grinning like a maniac.

Astrid pushed Vali off and stood up, dusting off her armor. She was horrified. She, the Heir of Winter-Hold, had just rolled around in the dirt like a common pup.

And worse... he was strong. She hadn’t been able to pin him.

She needed to get rid of them. She had actual work to do, and she couldn’t let her father see her like this.

She looked at Vali, then at Orion. A plan formed in her mind. A childish, mean, tactical plan.

"Fine," Astrid huffed, crossing her arms. "You are... adequate. For a city wolf."

Vali beamed, wiping blood from his mouth. "Does that mean we’re friends?"

"It means I have a mission for you," Astrid lied smoothly.

She pointed toward a heavy, reinforced door at the far end of the courtyard, down a flight of icy stairs.

"You want to help? You want action?" Astrid asked.

"YES!" Vali shouted. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"That door leads to the... Ice Cream Vault," Astrid improvised. "It is where we keep the special snow that tastes like sugar. But it is guarded by... invisible snow ninjas."

Vali’s eyes went wide. "Invisible ninjas? And ice cream?"

Orion frowned, standing up and dusting snow off his pants. "That sounds scientifically improbable. Snow is just frozen water. Why would it taste like sugar?"

Astrid ignored Orion again, keeping her eyes on Vali.

"If you are brave enough," she challenged, "you go down there and secure the vault. I will stay here and... cover your rear."

"I’m brave!" Vali yelled. "Come on, Orion! We’re getting dessert!"

Vali grabbed Orion’s hand and dragged the reluctant merman toward the dark stairs.

"Wait! Vali! The structural integrity of that staircase is suspect!" Orion protested, digging his heels in.

But Vali was too strong. He dragged Orion down the stairs and to the heavy door. Vali pushed it open. It was dark inside.

"Hello? Ninjas?" Vali called out, stepping into the darkness.

"I don’t see any dairy products," Orion muttered, squinting.

SLAM.

The heavy door swung shut behind them.

CLICK.

The sound of a heavy latch falling into place echoed in the darkness.

"Astrid?" Vali called out, pounding on the door. "Hey! It’s dark in here! Where’s the ice cream?"

Outside, on the other side of the door, Astrid smirked. She dusted her hands off.

"Target contained," she whispered to herself.

It wasn’t an Ice Cream Vault. It was the old Root Cellar. It was empty, boring, and impossible to open from the inside without a key.

"Enjoy the dark, cousin," Astrid muttered. "I have a war to fight."

She turned and marched away, leaving Vali pounding on the door and Orion sighing in the dark, wondering why nobody ever listened to the smart one.