Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 17: Operation Quiet Time

The next morning, the Little Whiskers Daycare opened on time, but the owner was running on fumes.

I had spent the entire night prepping ingredients, balancing my ledger (which was looking much healthier, thanks to the B.A.D.s), and stressing about the fact that I still hadn’t secured a husband. I was a zombie in an apron.

By 11:00 a.m., the adrenaline crashed.

I sat down in my rocking chair for "just a second" while the cubs were playing with blocks. The rhythmic tick-tock of the clock was hypnotic. My eyelids felt like they were made of lead.

Just... one... minute...

My chin hit my chest. I was out cold.

(The Cubs’ POV)

The room went silent.

Vali paused mid-pounce, a block raised over his head. He looked at the chair. "Food Lady stopped moving."

"She is recharging," Arjun whispered loudly. "Like me after a protein crash!"

"Shhh!" Clover scrambled out from under the table. She put a tiny finger to her lips, her ears standing straight up in alarm. "She’s sleeping! My sister says adults get grumpy if they don’t sleep. If she wakes up grumpy... maybe no soufflé."

The threat of "No Soufflé" hit the room like a bomb.

Vali slowly lowered the block. Jasper stopped turning the page of his book. Even Silas stopped batting at a dust bunny.

"Objective Updated," Arjun whispered. "Operation: Don’t Wake The Chef."

They sat in a circle on the rug, staring at each other.

One minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

Vali started to vibrate. "This is boring," he hissed. "I want to wrestle."

"Negative," Arjun whispered back. "Wrestling causes structural damage and noise. We must maintain silence."

"But what do we do?" Vali whined.

Jasper sighed, closing his book. "It appears we are trapped in a social engagement. If we cannot destroy things, we must... converse."

Clover perked up. "We can play the ’Who Are You’ game! My mom makes us play it when new bunnies come over."

"Is there a winner?" Vali asked instantly.

"No," Clover said. "You just say your age, what you like, and... um... your favorite rock?"

"That is an arbitrary metric," Jasper sniffed.

"I’ll go first!" Arjun declared, puffing out his chest. "I am Arjun Khanda. I am seven years old. That makes me the Commander of this squad because I’m the oldest!"

Vali narrowed his pink eyes. "Seven? I’m five! That’s... almost the same."

"It is two years, rookie," Arjun grinned. "I like: Running! Jumping! Lifting heavy things! And meat!"

"I like meat too!" Vali interrupted.

"Dislikes!" Arjun continued. "Sitting still! Sleeping! And vegetables that aren’t hidden in pies!"

He pointed at Vali. "You next, soldier."

Vali sat up, his tail thumping softly against the rug. "I am Vali Jaeger. I am five. I like... biting things. And howling. And the ’Two-Wolf Stew’ Prim makes."

"Dislikes?" Clover prompted.

Vali’s face scrunched up. "Baths. Balthazar makes the water too hot and it smells like flowers. Wolves should smell like dirt!"

"Disgusting," Jasper muttered.

"Your turn, Slimy," Vali growled.

Jasper straightened his silk collar. "I am Jasper Argentis. I am also five, though intellectually I am much older. I like... warmth. Silence. And books with pictures of maps."

"Dislikes?" Arjun asked.

"Everything else," Jasper stated flatly. "Cold. Dirt. Loud noises. Running. Sweating. And people touching me."

He looked at the silent boy next to him.

"Silas?" Clover whispered gently.

Silas looked up. He didn’t speak. He held up four fingers.

"Four?" Clover guessed.

Silas nodded.

"What do you like?" Vali asked, leaning in and sniffing him.

Silas reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, wrapped piece of the "Calming Biscuit" he had saved. He pointed to it. Then he pointed to Primrose, sleeping in the chair.

"Cookies and Prim," Clover translated. "Me too."

"Dislikes?" Jasper asked.

Silas looked at the dark corner of the room where the shadows were deepest. He shivered. Then he pointed to his own mouth and shook his head. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"He doesn’t like... talking?" Arjun guessed.

Silas shrugged. It’s complicated.

"I’m Clover!" the bunny finished. "I’m five too! I like carrots, my big sister Luna, and Prim! I dislike... big teeth." She glanced nervously at Vali.

"I won’t try to bite you today," Vali promised magnanimously. "Prim is sleeping. Biting is loud."

"See?" Arjun whispered-shouted. "We are a team! The Tiger, The Wolf, The Snake, The Panther, and The... uh... Logistics Officer!"

"Logistics Officer?" Clover tilted her head.

"Because you have the backpack!" Arjun pointed.

They sat there in the quiet shop, the only sound being Primrose’s soft breathing and the ticking clock. They were a bizarre collection of predator and prey, noble and commoner, loud and silent.

But as they looked at the sleeping chef who had fed them all, a silent agreement passed between them.

They were a Pack. And their Alpha was taking a nap.

"I’m bored again," Vali whispered after ten seconds. "Can we silently wrestle?"

"Arm wrestling," Arjun suggested. "Silent mode."

Vali grinned. "You’re on, Stripes."

I woke up with a crick in my neck and a line of drool on my chin.

Classy, Primrose. Very Top Chef.

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, panicking for a split second. The shop is silent. Silence means trouble. Silence means Vali is eating the drywall or Jasper has poisoned the water supply.

I sat up, grabbing my ladle like a weapon.

Then, I stopped.

The rug in the center of the shop was no longer a battleground. It was a nest.

They had pushed all the cushions together.

Arjun was spread-eagled on his back, snoring softly, one arm thrown over his eyes.

Vali was curled into a tight ball against Arjun’s side, twitching as he chased dream-rabbits.

Jasper, ever the heat-seeker, had somehow wormed his way under Vali’s arm, using the wolf cub as a living radiator.

Clover was tucked between Arjun and Jasper, clutching her carrot plushie.

And Silas was sitting up, asleep against the leg of the table, his hand resting protectively on Clover’s ear.

I lowered the ladle. My heart did a traitorous little flip.

Okay. That is aggressively cute.

I stood up quietly, my joints popping, and walked over to inspect the damage.

"Sir... yes... sir..." Arjun mumbled in his sleep, his brow furrowed. "More... protein..."

I chuckled softly. "At ease, soldier."

I moved his arm so he wasn’t accidentally pinning Clover.

"Mine..." Vali grumbled, smacking his lips. "Eat... the... chair..."

"No eating the furniture," I whispered, wiping a bit of drool from his chin with my apron.

"Inefficient..." Jasper sighed, burrowing deeper into Vali’s fur.

I grabbed a spare blanket from the shelf and draped it over the pile. Silas stirred, his violet eyes fluttering open for a second. He saw me. He saw the blanket. He closed his eyes again, leaning his head back against the wood.

I stepped back, leaning against the counter, watching the chest-heaving rhythm of five sleeping heirs to the most powerful bloodlines in the empire.

For a moment, the panic of the Bad End faded. The terror of Marquis Grieve, the stress of the debt, the pressure of the B.A.D.s... it all just quieted down.

I looked at my hands. They were calloused from chopping and burned from ovens. They weren’t the hands of a noble lady. They were the hands of a worker.

"Do I really need to get married?" I whispered to the empty shop.

I looked at the sleeping pile.

"I have a business. I have clients. I have... this."

For the first time since I woke up in this world, I felt a pang of genuine contentment. I didn’t want a husband. I didn’t want a political alliance. I just wanted to cook good food, stop Vali from eating wood, and watch these lonely, strange little kids grow up.

I could just take care of these kids all day. I could be happy doing just this.

Then, the bell above the door gave a phantom jingle in the wind, reminding me of the world outside.

The world where Marquis Grieve was waiting. The world where a "failed," tail-less fox-kin without a husband was just prey waiting to be snapped up.

My smile faded, but only a little.

I need a husband to keep this, I reminded myself. I need a husband so I don’t lose this.

I looked back at the cubs.

And honestly? Whoever I marry is going to have to get past this security detail first.

---

The sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the "Little Whiskers Daycare" in hazy shades of gold and violet.

I hadn’t meant to fall asleep again. I really hadn’t. But the rhythmic breathing of the five cubs was like a lullaby, and the exhaustion of keeping them from destroying the shop (and each other) was a heavy blanket.

I had slid down from the counter to sit on the rug beside them, my head resting on my knees, one hand loosely holding onto Vali’s paw, while Clover slept against my shoulder.

The world faded away.