Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 179: The Real Deal

The Royal Banquet was winding down, but the noise was still deafening. Ophelia was teaching Rurik a drinking song from the First Age that involved a lot of table-slapping, and Primrose and Caspian were in their own world on the balcony.

Luna stood near the dessert cart, holding a plate with two slices of cake.

She smoothed down her apron. Even for a victory feast, she was wearing her maid uniform—black dress, white frills—though she had allowed herself a touch of rouge on her cheeks.

She scanned the room. She wasn’t looking for the Warlords. She wasn’t looking for the kids.

She was looking for the man who had piloted the Abyssal Hunter through a gravity storm, shot a god in the shoulder, and somehow made it all look like he was just bored on a Tuesday.

Jax.

She found him not in the hall, but slipping out the side door toward the Palace Gardens. He didn’t walk with a limp or a hunch. He walked with a casual, loping stride, hands in his pockets, like he owned the place but didn’t care to pay the rent.

Luna took a deep breath. She grabbed a second fork.

"Okay, Luna," she whispered to herself. "You fought shadow monsters with a frying pan. You can talk to him. Even if you almost married the impostor who stole his face. It’s fine. It’s not weird at all."

She followed him out.

---

The Palace Gardens were serene. Silver moonflowers bloomed in the night, glowing softly.

Jax was leaning against a marble statue of a Nymph, tossing a gold coin in the air and catching it. He looked relaxed, his collar unbuttoned, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched the fountain.

He didn’t look traumatized. He looked like he was plotting something, or perhaps just enjoying the fact that nobody was shooting at him.

He didn’t turn around when she approached.

"You know, Lulu," Jax drawled, his voice smooth and teasing. "If you’re going to sneak up on a former Guard, you might want to lose the petticoats. They swish."

Luna stopped. "I wasn’t sneaking. I was... pursuing."

Jax caught the coin with a snap. He turned around, leaning back against the statue with crossed arms. His eyes—sharp, clever, and knowing—swept over her.

"Pursuing?" He raised an eyebrow. "Sounds dangerous. Usually, when people pursue me, I end up in a dungeon or a dragon’s stomach."

"I brought cake," Luna said, holding up the plate as a peace offering.

"Bribery," Jax grinned, flashing a toothy smile that reminded her of a fox. "My favorite tactical maneuver."

He took a slice of cake, popping a piece into his mouth. "Rum. Nice. Primrose’s influence, I assume?"

"Jax," Luna started, ignoring the small talk. "We need to talk."

Jax’s smile didn’t fade, but it became fixed. A mask.

"Do we?" He looked back at the fountain. "We survived. The world didn’t end. You look great. I look devastatingly handsome. What’s there to talk about?"

"About the wedding," Luna said bluntly.

Jax winced. A crack in the armor.

"Uh," he said. "Wedding?"

He swirled the coin in his fingers.

"He promised to marry me."

"Look, Luna.. The Doppelgänger was... good. He was designed to be the perfect version of me. Better talker. Better dresser. Probably a better kisser, too."

He shrugged, acting like it didn’t bother him.

"He proposed. You said yes. It makes sense. Who wouldn’t want to marry a super-spy?"

Luna stepped closer. She put the cake down on the edge of the fountain.

"He was perfect," Luna admitted.

Jax looked away, his jaw tightening. "Right. Well, I’m glad you had fun with him—"

"And he was exhausting," Luna interrupted.

Jax blinked, looking back at her. "Excuse me?"

"He was a script," Luna said, stepping into his personal space. "Everything he said was designed to make me happy. Every smile was calculated. It was like dating a mirror."

She looked up at him. The Real Jax. The man who had been a lowly Guard at the Jade Serpent sector, who had survived by his wits and his charm, who hid his fear behind a lazy smirk.

"But you?" Luna said softly. "You piloted a dragon-ship into a war zone. You stood on that ramp and faced the Void Sovereign with a crossbow."

"I was aiming for his eye," Jax quipped defensively. "I missed and hit the shoulder. Sloppy."

"You saved Primrose," Luna insisted. "And you saved me..."

She reached out and took his hand. It wasn’t the smooth, manicured hand of the Spy. It was rough. There were calluses from handling weapons, scars from his time as a Guard.

"The Spy promised me a fairy tale," Luna whispered. "But the Guard kept me safe."

Jax looked down at her hand holding his. The smirk faded, replaced by something raw. Something he usually kept hidden behind jokes and swagger.

"I’m not a Prince, Luna," Jax said quietly. "I’m a stray. I guard things. I don’t get to keep them."

"I don’t want a Prince," Luna said firmly. "I work in a palace. I have enough Princes to clean up after."

She reached into her apron pocket.

"The fake Jax gave me a ring," Luna said. "A big diamond. Stolen, probably."

Jax snorted. "Definitely stolen. He had sticky fingers."

"I threw it away," Luna said. "I don’t want it."

She pulled out a small object. It wasn’t a ring.

It was a Jade Whistle.

It was old and chipped. She had found it in his quarters on the ship—the only personal item he had kept from his time as a Serpent Guard.

"I found this," Luna said. "You left it in the cockpit."

Jax’s eyes widened. "My patrol whistle. I thought I lost that in the crash."

"I kept it," Luna said. "Because it’s yours. It’s real."

She held it out to him.

"Jax. I am formally asking you to start over. No spies. No disguises. No rush to the altar."

She took a deep breath.

"I am asking you to date me. Officially. I want the guy who makes jokes when he’s scared. I want the guy who steals extra desserts. I want you."

Jax looked at the whistle, then at Luna. The facade of the cool, detached rogue crumbled completely.

He let out a short, breathless laugh.

"You kept my whistle," he murmured. "You sentimental little maid."

"Are you going to say yes," Luna asked, her voice trembling slightly, "or do I have to hit you with my frying pan?"

Jax didn’t answer with words.

He moved.

He didn’t lean in slowly like a gentleman. He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him, swift and confident.

"You really want the stray?" Jax asked, his voice low and husky, hovering inches from her lips. "I’m high maintenance, sweetheart. I get bored easily. I steal food. I’m a bad influence."

"Good," Luna whispered, looking right into his eyes. "I’m tired of being good."

Jax grinned—a real, dangerous, happy grin.

"All right then."

He kissed her.

It wasn’t polite. It was passionate, reclaiming, and full of fire. It tasted of rum cake and victory. It was the kiss of a man who had spent months watching from the sidelines and finally decided to step into the game.

Luna melted against him, her hands tangling in his messy hair.

When they finally broke apart, Jax rested his forehead against hers, breathing hard.

"Okay," Jax said. "Date accepted. But I have conditions."

Luna giggled, breathless. "Conditions?"

"First," Jax counted on his fingers. "We take it slow. I want to court you properly. Flowers, dinners, the works. I’m going to charm you so hard you’ll forget the other guy ever existed."

"Deal," Luna smiled.

"Second," Jax continued, his eyes twinkling. "You have to introduce me to Ophelia. I hear she likes bad boys, and I need a powerful ally if I’m going to date the scary Maid with the Pan."

"She’s in the dining hall," Luna said. "Eating everything in sight."

"Perfect," Jax offered his arm, bowing with a flourish. "Shall we, milady? I believe there is still some glazed ham left, and I intend to steal it."

Luna took his arm. "You’re incorrigible."

"I’m the real deal, Lulu," Jax winked. "Get used to it."

Hand in hand, the Maid and the Guard walked back toward the lights of the palace, leaving the ghosts of the past in the garden where they belonged.