Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 16: The Food Chain (And How to Break It)

If anyone thinks running a daycare is cute, they have never tried to mediate a dispute between a Tiger who wants to do burpees and a Snake who wants to discuss tax law, while a Wolf tries to eat the furniture.

My shop had become the Thunderdome.

The Little Whiskers Daycare was now officially the most exclusive, high-security, and volatile location in the capital. And it started every morning at 8:00 a.m. sharp with the Drop-Off Wars.

The bell jingled.

General Rajah Khanda marched in first, holding Arjun like a football.

"MORNING, LADY PRIMROSE!" Rajah bellowed, shaking the windowpanes. "Arjun has completed a five-mile run! He requires fuel! I have brought a crate of Titan-Melons for the class!"

He slammed a crate of giant, heavy fruit onto my poor counter.

"Thank you, General," I sighed. "Arjun, stop vibrating. Shoes off."

The door slammed open again. Lord Rurik Jaeger stalked in, Vali hanging off his arm by his teeth.

"Khanda," Rurik growled, eyeing the melons with disdain. "Fruit? My son needs bone density. I brought a side of elk."

He threw a raw, wrapped haunch of meat onto the counter next to the melons.

"Rurik," Rajah grinned, flexing a bicep. "Still trying to turn your son into a rug? He needs agility!"

"He needs to bite harder," Rurik retorted.

Then, the air grew cold. Archduke Cassian Argentis glided in, Alistair holding a velvet pillow upon which sat Jasper. The snake boy looked pristine and bored. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Gentlemen," Cassian said, his voice like silk over ice. "You are blocking the airflow. My brother requires ventilation."

He placed a small, exquisite box of imported truffles on the counter. "For the... educational snacks. Do try not to let the canine drool on them."

"I heard that!" Vali barked.

Finally, a shadow detached itself from the corner of the room. Duke Lucien Crepusci didn’t use the door. He just appeared.

Silas was standing next to him, silent and ghost-like.

"We brought..." Lucien paused, looking at the melons, the meat, and the truffles with violet-eyed contempt. "...napkins."

He placed a stack of black silk handkerchiefs on the counter.

"Because your children are messy," Lucien added.

The four dads stood there, creating a wall of testosterone, magic, and rivalry.

Rurik glared at Cassian. Cassian judged Rajah’s uniform. Rajah tried to give Lucien a high-five (Lucien dodged). Lucien stared at everyone like he was deciding who to assassinate first.

"Okay!" I clapped my hands, stepping between them. "Dads, out. Cubs, in. Unless one of you wants to stay and change a diaper—oh wait, none of you do? Goodbye!"

I ushered four of the most powerful men in the empire out the door. They left, still bickering about whose carriage was blocking whose.

I turned back to the room.

"Alright, team," I said. "Report."

The bonding—and the fighting—began immediately.

At 10:00 AM, the inevitable Block War happened.

Arjun yelled, "We must build a fortress! Tall! Strong! Like the General’s wall!"

Vali added while also yelling, "No! We build a cave! Dark! Spooky!" Jasper spoke,"Your architectural integrity is laughable. A fortress requires a foundation. You are stacking recklessly."

CRASH.

Vali kicked over Arjun’s tower.

"AMBUSH!" Vali roared.

"DISSENSION IN THE RANKS!" Arjun yelled, tackling Vali.

They rolled around on the rug, a ball of fur and limbs.

"Stop it!" Clover squeaked, trying to pull Vali’s tail. "Prim said ’Gentle Paws’!"

Jasper sat on his cushion, watching them with disdain. "Mammals. So inefficient."

Then, Silas moved.

He walked over to the pile of blocks the others had ignored. Silently, methodically, he began to stack them. He didn’t make a sound. While Vali and Arjun wrestled, Silas built a perfect, complex, spiraling tower that reached his chin.

Jasper watched him. He slithered over.

"That is... geometrically pleasing," Jasper admitted.

Silas looked at the Snake. He held out a block.

Jasper took it. He placed it carefully on top.

Silas nodded.

They had formed the Quiet Alliance.

At 12:00 PM, Lunch time...

I served lunch. Savory Shepherd’s Pie for the Wolf and Tiger (high protein, hidden veggies), Warm Soufflé for the Snake and Bunny (easy to digest), and a simple Creamy Chicken Stew for Silas (comfort food).

"I don’t want green things!" Vali complained, poking a pea in his pie.

"It’s Hunter’s Green," I lied. "It makes your eyes sharper."

Vali ate the pea immediately.

Then, the trading started.

Arjun looked at Clover’s soufflé. "Is that fluffy?" Clover hugged her bowl. "Mine."

Arjun looked at Vali. "I bet I can eat your pie faster than you." Vali narrowed his eyes. "Bet you can’t."

They started a speed-eating contest. It was disgusting. It was effective. They finished every bite.

Meanwhile, Jasper was staring at Silas’s stew.

"Is that... chicken?" Jasper asked.

Silas nodded. He pushed his bowl slightly toward Jasper.

Jasper took a tiny, elegant sip. "Acceptable. Would you care for a truffle?"

Silas took the truffle.

The Quiet Alliance was thriving. The Loud Alliance was currently seeing who could burp the alphabet.

At 2:00 PM...

The energy crash hit Arjun. The Demon mood hit Vali. The cold hit Jasper.

"I’M BORED!" Vali howled. "I want to bite something!" "THE PERIMETER IS BORING!" Arjun yelled, running in circles. "I am... freezing," Jasper shivered.

I looked at Silas. He was sitting in the corner, knees to his chest, eyes going vacant again. The noise was getting to him.

Okay. Crisis management.

"Clover!" I called out. "Emergency supplies!"

Clover ran to her backpack. She pulled out the Interactive Element.

It was a ball of yarn.

I tossed it into the center of the room.

Vali froze. Arjun froze. Silas’s eyes snapped into focus. Even the Silent Cub couldn’t resist the instinct.

Vali pounced. Arjun intercepted. Silas leaped from the shadows.

Suddenly, they weren’t fighting each other. They were fighting the ball.

Vali batted it to Arjun. Arjun threw it to Silas. Silas rolled it to... Jasper?

Jasper looked at the yarn ball near his foot. He looked at the three predators waiting for him to move it.

He sighed. "So undignified."

He kicked the ball back.

The room exploded in cheers.

By the time the Dads returned at 5:00 PM, the shop was a wreck, but the cubs were sitting in a circle, exhausted, tangled in a web of yarn, asleep.

Rurik looked at the yarn mess. "Is my son... knitting?" Rajah beamed. "It’s a tactical web! Brilliant!" Cassian frowned. "Jasper is touching... wool. He will need a bath." Lucien looked at Silas, who was asleep with his head on Vali’s shoulder. The Panther Duke said nothing, but his violet eyes softened.

"Same time tomorrow?" I asked, wiping sweat from my brow.

The four men looked at each other. They looked at me.

"Tomorrow," they said in unison.

They were rivals. They hated each other. But they all agreed on one thing:

I was the only one keeping their children—and their sanity—alive.