Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 205: Giant Pink Sheep

The Capital’s annual Spring Blossom Festival was supposed to be a joyous, relaxing event. The streets were lined with glowing paper lanterns, the air smelled of roasted sweetcorn and honey-cakes, and merchants from all over the Empire came to sell their wares.

It was a beautiful tradition.

However, taking four highly competitive Warlords and a pack of hyperactive beast-cubs to a festival filled with games of skill was a recipe for absolute disaster.

"I want the pink sheep!" Vali announced, pointing a tiny, demanding finger at a game stall.

The stall was a simple throwing game. You had to knock down a pyramid of heavy wooden gargoyles with a small, stuffed leather ball. The grand prize, hanging from the roof of the tent, was a stuffed sheep the size of a small boulder, dyed a violently bright shade of pink.

"Why do you want a pink sheep?" Rurik asked, scratching his silver head. "It is fluffy and lacks tactical value. I will win you the toy broadsword instead."

"No! I need the sheep!" Vali insisted, his tail wagging frantically. "Clover likes pink. If I give her the giant sheep, she won’t make me carry her beach bucket tomorrow!"

Cassian, who was standing a few feet away so his silk robes wouldn’t brush against the commoners, let out a soft snort of amusement. "The wolf is attempting to buy his way out of manual labor. His grasp of merchant economics is improving rapidly."

"I will not have my son bribing his way out of a courtship!" Rurik puffed out his chest, glaring at the game stall. "But if he desires the pink sheep to establish dominance, the Alpha shall provide! Vendor! Give me the spheres!"

The poor vendor, a scrawny raccoon-kin, looked completely terrified as the massive, scarred Wolf Warlord slammed a gold coin onto the counter. He quickly handed Rurik three leather balls.

"Watch and learn, pups," Rurik grinned, rolling his shoulder. "It is all about raw, undeniable power."

Rurik wound up his arm. He didn’t just throw the ball; he launched it with the kinetic force of a cannonball.

*CRACK!*

The leather ball bypassed the wooden gargoyles entirely. It smashed directly into the backboard of the stall, shattering the thick wood into splinters and embedding itself halfway into the brick wall of the building behind the tent.

The crowd went dead silent. The vendor squeaked and hid under his counter.

"I missed," Rurik said, blinking in genuine surprise.

"You did not account for the weight-to-velocity ratio," Cassian sighed, stepping forward and removing his pristine white gloves. "Brute force is the tool of a barbarian, Rurik. Precision is the weapon of a scholar."

Cassian placed a silver coin on the counter. The vendor, trembling, slowly pushed three more balls upward without showing his face.

Jasper pushed his round glasses up his nose, pulling out his notebook. "Father, the wind is blowing from the east at four knots. The wooden gargoyles appear to be weighted at the bottom."

"An amateur trick," Cassian sneered at the rigged game. "But easily countered by altering the trajectory."

Cassian picked up the first ball. He didn’t throw it hard. He simply flicked his wrist.

The ball arced gracefully through the air, hitting the top gargoyle at the exact, mathematically perfect angle required to send the entire pyramid toppling down in a single, clattering heap.

"Flawless," Jasper noted, writing in his book. "Efficiency rating: one hundred percent."

"I’ll take the pink sheep," Cassian told the trembling vendor.

When Cassian was handed the massive, fluffy pink toy, he didn’t give it to Vali. He turned and handed it to Jasper. "Hold this, son. Let the wolf carry his own burdens."

"Hey!" Vali whined, his ears dropping.

"Oh, for heaven’s sake, give me the balls," Caspian laughed, stepping up to the counter.

My handsome Merman King didn’t even use magic. He just casually tossed the ball underhand with the effortless grace of a man who had spent his life throwing tridents under heavy water pressure. The second pyramid of gargoyles collapsed instantly.

Caspian collected a second giant pink sheep, handed it to a beaming Vali, and then turned to wrap a strong arm around my waist, pulling me against his side.

"There," Caspian smiled, his teal eyes sparkling in the lantern light. "The pack dynamic is restored, and the local merchants are sufficiently terrified. Can we get food now? Orion is eyeing the candied apples."

I looked over at my nine-year-old son, who was indeed pressing his face against the glass of a confectionary stall, his iridescent silver hair glowing under the streetlamps.

"Yes, please," I laughed, leaning into Caspian’s warmth. "Before Rurik tries to win the giant stuffed bear and accidentally levels the city block."

We moved through the festival like a heavily armed royal parade. The crowd naturally parted for the Warlords, giving us plenty of room to explore.

The food stalls were a chef’s paradise. As we walked, I couldn’t help but analyze the different techniques the street vendors were using.

"Smell that?" I asked Caspian, pointing to a stall roasting giant skewers of squid over an open charcoal flame. "They’re basting it in a fermented plum sauce. It cuts through the smoke perfectly. But they should really score the meat deeper so the marinade penetrates the thickest part of the tentacle."

Caspian looked down at me, an incredibly fond smile on his face. "You cannot turn off the Top Chef, can you, Little Rose?"

"It’s an occupational hazard," I shrugged playfully.

Without missing a beat, Caspian walked over to the stall. He didn’t buy one skewer. He handed the merchant a heavy pouch of silver and bought the entire grill’s worth, handing a massive bundle of hot, fragrant squid skewers to me.

"For research purposes," Caspian murmured, pressing a quick, sweet kiss to my temple.

I shared the skewers with the cubs, who devoured them like they hadn’t eaten an enormous dinner two hours ago. Even Silas emerged from the shadows long enough to take one, his violet eyes glowing happily as he chewed.

"Look!" Orion suddenly shouted, pointing a sticky finger toward the center of the festival square. "The Sky-Wheel!"

Towering over the buildings was a massive, magical Ferris wheel. The gondolas were shaped like elegant lotus flowers, glowing with pale blue mana-crystals that gently lifted the massive wooden structure into the air without a single metal gear.

"I want to go to the top!" Orion cheered, grabbing Jasper’s sleeve. "We can see the whole city! And we can figure out how the mana-crystals distribute the levitation weight!"

"A worthy academic pursuit," Jasper agreed, pushing his glasses up. "We must secure a gondola."

The Warlords, naturally, refused to let the cubs go alone. But since the gondolas only fit four people each, we had to split up.

Rurik took Vali and Arjun in one cart, loudly explaining how being high in the air was an excellent tactical vantage point for spotting enemy troops. Cassian took Jasper and Silas in the next cart, wiping the seat down with a sanitized cloth before allowing the boys to sit.

That left Caspian, Orion, and me for the third gondola.

As we stepped into the giant wooden lotus flower, the mana-crystals hummed, and we slowly began to rise above the festival. The noise of the crowd faded into a pleasant murmur, replaced by the cool, quiet evening breeze.

Orion immediately glued his face to the edge of the gondola, looking down at the structural base.

"They put the biggest crystals at the bottom," Orion muttered to himself, his sharp little teeth showing in a wide smile. "But there are tiny ones on the sides to keep it from swaying! Dad, look! The engineering is so simple but it works perfectly!"

"I see it, little prince," Caspian smiled warmly, sitting across from him. "Maybe we can install a smaller version at the manor. It would save you walking down the stairs to the pool." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Yes!" Orion pumped his fist, completely lost in his own world of blueprints and magic.

I sat back against the curved wooden seat, letting out a soft sigh. The view really was spectacular. The Capital looked like a sea of golden stars, the lantern light reflecting off the winding rivers that ran through the city.

Caspian slid across the seat, closing the distance between us until his thigh was pressed flush against mine. He draped his arm over the back of the seat behind me, his fingers gently toying with the ends of my silver hair.

"You look beautiful in the lantern light," Caspian said softly, his deep voice only loud enough for me to hear over Orion’s excited rambling.

I looked at him, feeling that familiar, breathless flutter in my chest. He was wearing a dark, elegant coat that made his broad shoulders look even wider, and his iridescent hair was slightly windblown.

"You don’t look so bad yourself, my King," I whispered back.

Caspian’s hand slipped from my hair to cup my cheek, his thumb gently tracing my cheekbone. His teal eyes were completely focused on me, filled with that heavy, endless devotion that still managed to take my breath away.

He leaned in slowly, giving me plenty of time to pull away, but I just leaned closer, my eyes fluttering shut.

Our lips met in a slow, sweet kiss. It was gentle and completely perfect, tasting like candied apples and the cool night air. I rested my hand on his chest, feeling the steady, strong beat of his heart under my palm.

"Ew! Gross!"

We broke apart to see Orion covering his eyes with his hands, peeking through his fingers with a dramatically disgusted expression.

"You guys are doing the kissing thing again! We’re doing science right now!"

Caspian laughed, a deep, rich sound that echoed in the small space. He reached over and ruffled Orion’s hair. "Science can wait for a moment, architect. The Sovereign requires my undivided attention."

"I’m telling Jasper you broke focus," Orion grumbled, though he was smiling as he turned back to look at the gears.

I leaned my head against Caspian’s shoulder, laughing softly as the Sky-Wheel carried us to the very top. Looking out over the beautiful, glowing city, surrounded by my family, I knew exactly how lucky I was.

Pink sheep, Warlord chaos, and all.