Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 124: The Investigation

The scream shattered the silence of the Keep.

It wasn’t just a child’s cry. It was the terrified shriek of a girl watching her family disappear.

"VALI!"

In the Marquis’ study, Rurik and Konrad didn’t exchange words. They exchanged a look of pure, primal panic. Then, the window exploded outward.

CRASH.

Two massive shapes—one in a grey tunic, one in black armor—launched themselves from the third-story window. They didn’t fall; they landed in the snow with the heavy, earth-shaking thud of apex predators.

"VALI!" Rurik roared, scrambling up from the crater his landing had made.

He sprinted toward the children. His eyes were wide, scanning for the grey blur of his son.

He saw Astrid on her knees, clawing at the frozen ground. He saw Orion standing motionless, staring at the empty space.

But he didn’t see Vali.

"Where is he?" Rurik demanded, dropping to his knees beside Astrid. He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "Astrid! Where is he?"

"The shadow..." Astrid gasped, tears streaming down her face. "It came out of the ground... it took him... he pushed me... he pushed me out of the way..."

Rurik looked at the spot she was pointing to.

There was no hole. No tunnel. Just a patch of snow that looked... wrong. It wasn’t white. It was stained with an inky, oily residue that hissed as the snowflakes touched it.

"NO!" Rurik howled.

He punched the ground. He didn’t care about the cold. He dug his claws into the permafrost, tearing at the earth, trying to find the tunnel, the trapdoor, anything.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" Rurik screamed at the earth. "VALI! DAD IS HERE! ANSWER ME!"

Konrad stood behind him, staring at the black stain. His face was pale as death.

"The Void," Konrad whispered. "It found him."

Moments later, the heavy doors of the Keep burst open again.

Primrose, Caspian, and Freya ran out into the snow. They had heard the screaming.

Primrose’s heart was hammering against her ribs. She saw Rurik digging frantically in the snow like a wild animal. She saw Orion standing alone, looking small and broken.

"What happened?" Primrose gasped, reaching the group. She grabbed Orion, checking him for injuries. "Orion? Where is Vali?"

Orion looked up at her. His seafoam eyes were huge and empty.

"He’s gone, Prim," Orion whispered, his voice trembling. "It just... swallowed him. Like a monster mouth. He’s just... gone."

Caspian stepped forward. He placed a hand on Rurik’s shoulder, pulling the frantic Warlord back.

"Rurik," Caspian said, his voice calm but tight. "Stop digging. You will bury the trail."

"HE’S DOWN THERE!" Rurik snarled, trying to shove Caspian away. "I CAN SMELL HIM!"

"Look at the ground," Caspian ordered.

Rurik stopped. He looked.

The black stain wasn’t just a puddle. It was crystalizing. Jagged spikes of Black Ice were starting to form, growing out of the ground like obsidian teeth.

Primrose stepped closer. She knelt down, ignoring the cold. She hovered her hand over the black spikes.

She felt a wave of nausea. A cold, oily sensation that made her skin crawl. It wasn’t just dark magic. It felt... familiar.

She closed her eyes, thinking back. Back to the Temple of the Stars. Back to the moment she had faced the masked figure—the Boss who manipulated the plot from the shadows.

"It’s him," Primrose whispered.

"Who?" Freya asked, her hand on her sword hilt.

"The Boss," Primrose stood up, her amber eyes hardening. "I met him at some Temple. He has been messing with us."

She looked at the Black Ice.

"He didn’t just stumble upon Vali," Primrose realized. "He was waiting. He knew we were coming."

"We hunt," Rurik growled.

He stood up. He was vibrating with rage. His pupils were slits. He looked ready to tear the mountain apart with his bare hands.

"I will mobilize the Legion," Konrad said, his voice grim. "We will sweep the tunnels. We will check every cave."

"No," Caspian interrupted. "Soldiers are too slow. And they are vulnerable to the Void. This requires a surgical strike."

"I am going," Rurik declared. "Try to stop me, Konrad, and I will kill you."

"I am not stopping you," Konrad snapped. "I am coming with you. He is my nephew. And this is my mountain."

"I am coming too," Freya added, stepping up beside her husband. "I know the Old Tunnels better than anyone."

"And me," Caspian said simply. "Orion stays here with Primrose."

"Objection," a small voice cut in.

Astrid stood up. She wiped the tears from her face. She picked up her broken wooden sword and threw it away. Then, she walked over to the rack of weapons near the gate and pulled down a real, steel short-sword.

It was heavy, dragging in the snow, but she held it with both hands.

"I am coming," Astrid said.

"Astrid, no," Freya started. "It is too dangerous—"

"He saved me!" Astrid shouted. Her voice cracked, but her eyes were burning yellow fire. "The shadow wanted me. It aimed for me! Vali pushed me out of the way!"

She looked at her mother, then at her father.

"He is my pack," Astrid said, using the word she had mocked only hours ago. "I left him behind once today. I locked him in the dark. I will not do it again."

Konrad looked at his daughter. He saw the fear in her eyes, but he also saw the steel. The Jaeger steel.

"She comes," Konrad decided. "She stays in the middle of the formation. If she falls behind, we leave her."

"Konrad!" Freya gasped.

"She is the Heir," Konrad said coldly. "Let her prove it."

Primrose stood up. She looked at the group of terrifyingly powerful warriors preparing for war.

"I’m going too," Primrose said.

"Prim," Caspian turned to her, his face softening. "You have no combat magic. The Void... it is toxic to you."

"Don’t worry," Primrose said, pulling a small pouch from her pocket. "I have snacks. High-mana rations. If Vali is down there using his Red Eyes... he’s going to be hungry. If we don’t feed him, he’ll eat the world, right?"

She looked at Konrad.

The Marquis flinched. He knew she was right.

"Fine," Konrad grunted. "The Fox comes. But you carry your own weight."

"I always do," Primrose muttered.

She turned to Orion.

"Orion," she said gently. "You have the most important job. You stay here. You are the communication hub. If we send a signal, you light the beacon. Can you do that?"

Orion nodded solemnly. "I’ll be the lighthouse, Prim. I won’t blink."

"Good."

Rurik turned to the hole in the ground—the patch of Black Ice.

"How do we get in?" Rurik asked. "We can’t fit through a shadow."

Caspian stepped forward. He raised his hand. The air around him shimmered with oceanic pressure.

"We don’t fit," Caspian said. "We make a door."

He slammed his hand onto the frozen earth.

"Hydro-Cannon."

BOOM.

A blast of pressurized water drilled straight down into the earth, smashing through rock and ice. It carved a tunnel ten feet wide, spiraling down into the darkness of the mountain.

"Ladies first," Rurik growled, jumping in without hesitation.

Konrad followed. Then Freya. Then little Astrid, dragging her sword.

Caspian offered his hand to Primrose.

"Stay close to me," he whispered.

"Always," Primrose replied, taking his hand.

Together, they jumped into the dark.