Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 204: Blueberry Pancakes and Baffled Alphas

The fastest way to wake up a house full of beast-cubs wasn’t an alarm clock or a wake-up call. It was the smell of sizzling butter and warm berries.

By the time the sun had fully risen over the ocean, casting a brilliant golden light through the massive glass windows of the kitchen, I had already flipped four dozen blueberry pancakes. Caspian was beside me, expertly frying up thick cuts of spiced bacon and sausage.

"They are coming," Caspian murmured, his teal eyes dancing with amusement. He didn’t even need to use his magic to sense them; the sound of five pairs of stampeding feet echoing down the grand staircase was warning enough.

"I call the seat by the window!" Orion yelled, sliding into the kitchen in his socks and nearly crashing into the marble island.

"Tactical error, Orion," Arjun advised, marching in right behind him, his tiger-ears standing tall. "The seat closest to the stove has the fastest resupply route for the bacon."

"I do not care about the seating arrangement," Jasper announced, adjusting his glasses as he took a very dignified seat at the table. "I only care about my daily caloric intake. Mother, I require three pancakes. Exactly perfectly round, please."

"Coming right up," I laughed, levitating a massive platter of food onto the center of the dining table using a touch of wind magic.

The cubs descended on the food like a pack of starved wolves. Actually, only one of them was a wolf, and he was currently experiencing a deep moral crisis.

Vali sat next to Clover. He looked at his towering stack of five blueberry pancakes, then he looked at the thick, juicy piece of sausage on his plate. His tail gave a sad, hesitant thump against the chair.

With a heavy sigh that sounded like he carried the weight of the entire world on his tiny shoulders, Vali picked up his fork. He meticulously cut his sausage in half. Then, he scooped exactly half of his pancakes onto Clover’s plate.

"Here," Vali grumbled, looking away so he wouldn’t cry over the lost meat. "I am a good investment."

Clover smiled brilliantly, her bunny ears perking up. She didn’t even like sausage that much, but she happily took a bite of the pancake. "Thank you, Vali. You are very good at providing capital."

Jasper paused midway through a bite, shaking his head. "He actually did it. The Alpha instinct has been completely overridden by merchant negotiations. My brother is going to find this statistically fascinating."

"Alright, eat up, everyone," I said, leaning against the counter next to Caspian. "Because once you digest, Orion is going to need test subjects for the new pool slide."

A collective cheer went up around the table.

An hour later, we were all gathered around the massive, crystal-clear pool in the courtyard. The cliffside manor’s pool was built seamlessly into the rock, overlooking the ocean, and Orion had spent weeks designing a smooth, curving water slide that spiraled down from the second-floor balcony.

"Okay, listen up!" Orion stood at the top of the slide, looking every bit the proud architect. The sunlight caught his iridescent silver hair, making it shimmer like the surface of the sea. "The friction coefficient is very low because Dad coated the stone with a permanent hydro-layer. Keep your arms crossed so you don’t hit your elbows!"

"I will go first to test the structural integrity," Arjun volunteered, marching up the stairs. The little tiger-cub crossed his arms over his chest, took a deep breath, and launched himself down.

*Whoosh! Splash!*

Arjun hit the water perfectly, surfacing a second later with a rare, massive grin on his face. "The velocity is optimal! Target acquired!"

"My turn!" Vali howled, completely ignoring Orion’s safety instructions. He dove down the slide headfirst on his stomach.

Caspian, who was waiting in the deep end of the pool with his magnificent blue and silver tail swaying gently beneath the surface, effortlessly caught the flying wolf-cub before Vali could belly-flop into the water.

"Arms crossed, pup," Caspian chuckled, tossing Vali playfully into the shallow end.

The morning was pure, chaotic joy. Silas used his shadows to make it look like a dark monster was chasing him down the slide, which made Clover scream with laughter. Jasper went down holding a small, waterproof notebook, trying to calculate the exact speed of his descent.

We were having so much fun that we didn’t even hear the heavy front gates open.

"By the ancestors, what is this madness?!"

The booming voice echoed across the courtyard, freezing everyone in their tracks.

I turned to see the Warlords standing on the patio. Rurik looked horrified. Cassian was wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat, looking deeply unimpressed. General Rajah looked amused, and Lucien was simply a dark blur standing near a shaded pillar.

"Dad!" Vali cheered from the shallow end. He scrambled out of the pool, dripping wet, and bounded over to the patio.

But Vali didn’t run to Rurik to brag about the slide. Instead, the little wolf-cub ran straight to a pink, sparkly plastic beach bucket sitting near the lounge chairs. He picked it up in his mouth by the handle, trotted over to where Clover was sitting by the edge of the pool, and proudly set it down next to her.

"I brought your bucket," Vali announced, his tail wagging.

Rurik’s jaw dropped. The terrifying Northern Wolf Warlord, who commanded armies and struck fear into the hearts of men, stared at his fierce, feral son acting as a baggage handler for a small bunny.

"Vali," Rurik choked out, pointing a trembling finger at the pink bucket. "What... what are you doing? Why are you holding the sparkly plastic?"

"I am providing, Dad!" Vali barked proudly. "Clover said a crab claw is a liability, so I have to carry her bucket to prove I am a good investment! I gave her my sausage at breakfast, too!"

Cassian let out a sharp, distinctly undignified snort of laughter. He quickly covered his mouth with a gloved hand, turning his head away, his shoulders shaking with silent amusement.

"You gave away your meat?!" Rurik grabbed his own hair, looking up at the sky as if the gods had betrayed him. "To a prey species?! Vali, we are wolves! We do not carry pink buckets! We conquer!"

"Luna makes Uncle Jax carry the groceries," Clover pointed out helpfully, adjusting her star-shaped sunglasses. "And Jax is very happy. If Vali wants to court me, he has to follow the market rules."

"Court?!" Rurik spun around to look at me, his golden eyes wide with panic. "Little Rose! What happened at this sleepover?! My son has been unionized by a merchant guild!"

I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing. Caspian swam over to the edge of the pool, resting his arms on the stone rim, a wide, devastating grin on his face.

"He is adapting to his environment, Rurik," Caspian said smoothly. "You should be proud. He is learning diplomacy."

"I do not want diplomacy! I want a feral warrior!" Rurik groaned, dramatically sinking onto a lounge chair and burying his face in his hands.

"Statistically, Vali’s survival rate in civilized society just went up by forty percent," Cassian noted, walking over to inspect the water slide. He looked up at the balcony, then down at the pool. "The engineering on this is quite impressive, Orion. Did you account for the lateral G-forces on the second curve?"

"Yes, Uncle Cassian!" Orion beamed, swimming over to the edge. "I banked the wall by fifteen degrees!"

"Excellent," Cassian nodded approvingly. "Jasper, did you pack your waterproof sunblock?"

"Yes, Father. Reapplied twenty minutes ago," Jasper answered from the water.

General Rajah walked over to the edge of the pool, unbuttoning his heavy military coat. "Arjun. Report."

"The perimeter is secure, Father," Arjun saluted from the deep end. "The Sovereign’s pancakes were excellent, and the aquatic velocity training has been highly effective."

"Good," Rajah smiled warmly, sitting down on the edge of the stone patio. "Carry on, soldier."

I grabbed a towel and walked over to Rurik, draping it over his broad shoulders. "Cheer up, big guy," I soothed, patting his silver hair. "He’s just playing. And frankly, it’s nice to see him not trying to bite Jasper for once."

Rurik peeked out from behind his hands, looking over at Vali. The little wolf-cub was currently helping Clover build a tiny tower out of wet pebbles, looking completely content.

Rurik sighed, a slow, begrudging smile finally pulling at the corners of his mouth. "He does look happy. Even if he is holding a pink bucket."

"They all are," I agreed softly.

"I suppose..." Rurik muttered, standing up and stripping off his heavy fur mantle. "I suppose a true Alpha must test the structural integrity of this water slide. To ensure it is safe for the pack, of course."

Before anyone could stop him, the massive Wolf Warlord sprinted up the stairs and launched himself down the slide with a deafening howl, hitting the pool with a splash so large it entirely soaked Cassian’s pristine silk robes.

Cassian froze, dripping wet, his eyes glowing with sudden, intense serpentine fury.

"Rurik," Cassian hissed, "you have three seconds to run."

As the Warlords immediately devolved into splashing and fighting in the pool, and the cubs cheered them on, Caspian swam over and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to the edge.

"It seems the sleepover has been extended," Caspian laughed, his teal eyes shining with pure joy.

I rested my forehead against his, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. "I wouldn’t have it any other way."