Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 25: Courted by Catastrophe III

The cubs looked at the chaos. Primrose was currently running between the grill (saving the meat), the table (cleaning the melon), and the cooler (hiding the liver).

"She is doing everything," Jasper noted. "This is inefficient."

"She needs backup!" Arjun declared.

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

It wasn’t Rajah. It wasn’t Rurik.

The birds in the forest went silent. The wind stopped.

A low, guttural roar echoed from the deep woods. It didn’t sound like a regular beast. It sounded like... hunger.

Vali’s ears flattened. "That’s not a wolf."

Arjun stood up, hair bristling. "That’s not a tiger."

Jasper hissed. "That... is a Chimera."

A massive shape crashed through the trees at the edge of the clearing. It was a nightmare—part lion, part goat, part snake, and entirely enraged. It was drooling, its eyes glowing with a magical madness.

And it was looking right at the Little Whiskers Daycare picnic.

"DANGER!" Rurik roared, drawing his sword.

"CONTACT FRONT!" Rajah bellowed, his aura flaring.

"Shields!" Cassian commanded, a green barrier snapping into place.

Lucien dissolved into shadows, blades appearing in his hands.

But the Chimera didn’t charge the men.

It charged the source of the most delicious smell in the forest.

It charged Primrose, who was holding a tray of freshly baked Sun-Root Buns.

"PRIM!" the cubs screamed in unison.

The Chimera was a biological disaster. It had the head of a lion (roaring), the head of a goat (bleating), and a snake for a tail (hissing). It was massive, smelly, and barreling toward me like a freight train made of teeth and bad decisions.

I stood frozen, clutching the tray of Sun-Root Buns to my chest.

Run, Primrose! my brain screamed. Save the buns! They took three hours to proof! my chef heart argued.

Before the monster could reach me, the world exploded into action.

"GET BACK!" Lord Rurik Jaeger roared. He didn’t draw a weapon; he became the weapon. He leaped between me and the beast, catching the Chimera’s lion-paws on his forearms. His boots dug furrows into the earth as he held back two tons of angry monster with pure brute strength.

"FLANK LEFT!" General Rajah Khanda bellowed. The Tiger General blurred into motion, his massive sword flashing. He didn’t strike to kill; he struck the flat of the blade against the goat head’s snout, disorienting it. "BACK, BEAST! THE LADY IS OFF THE MENU!"

Archduke Cassian Argentis flicked his wrist. A shimmering green barrier snapped into place around the children, sealing them (and a terrified Luna) in a protective bubble. "Alistair! Secure the perimeter!"

Duke Lucien Crepusci vanished. A split second later, shadows erupted from the ground, wrapping around the Chimera’s legs like black chains, pinning it down.

It was an impressive display of the Empire’s might. The four rivals were working together perfectly.

Except... they were scaring the poor thing to death.

The Chimera thrashed, terrified by the Wolf’s growl, the Tiger’s shout, and the binding shadows. The Snake-tail lashed out blindly, knocking over the picnic table.

CRASH.

My Savory Muffins went flying.

The Chimera’s three heads stopped fighting the men. All three pairs of eyes locked onto a rolling muffin.

The Lion head whined. The Goat head bleated sadly. The Snake head flicked its tongue.

My Top Chef brain finally processed the data.

Ribs showing through the fur.

Dull coat.

Desperate fixation on food, not people.

"STOP!" I screamed, stepping out from behind Rurik’s protective bulk.

"Primrose, get back!" Rurik snarled, struggling to hold the beast. "It’s feral!"

"It’s not feral, you idiot!" I shouted, marching forward. "It’s starving!"

I walked right past the stunned General Khanda. I walked right up to the thrashing, terrifying monster.

"Lucien, release the shadows," I commanded.

"But—" a voice whispered from the air.

"NOW!"

The shadows dissolved. The Chimera scrambled back, huddling against a tree, shaking.

I knelt down. I picked up a Sun-Root Bun. It was warm, fluffy, and smelled of earth and sugar.

"Hey there," I said softly, holding it out. "Rough day?"

The Lion head sniffed. The Goat head sniffed. Even the Snake tail leaned in.

The Chimera crept forward. It didn’t lunge. It gingerly took the bun from my hand with the Goat mouth.

Chomp.

The reaction was immediate. The beast melted. It let out a three-part sound of pure bliss. It looked at me with big, watery eyes.

"See?" I said, reaching into my apron for another bun. "Just hungry."

I fed it the rest of the tray. By the time the buns were gone, the terrifying monster was rolling on its back, letting me scratch its Lion-chin while the Snake-tail gently wrapped around my ankle like an affectionate cat.

I looked up.

The Four B.A.D.s were staring at me.

Rurik’s sword was half-lowered. Rajah’s mouth was open. Cassian looked like he was calculating the odds of me being a witch. Lucien had rematerialized, looking stunned.

"You..." Rurik breathed, sheathing his sword. "You tamed a Chimera. With a bun."

"It’s a high-calorie carb," I shrugged, wiping drool off my hand. "Restores stamina. Improves mood."

From inside the barrier, the cubs were pressing their faces against the magic glass.

"SHE DID IT!" Arjun cheered. "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" "The Asset is secure," Jasper nodded. "Prim is magic," Vali howled. Silas just smiled, a real, wide smile.

Then, I heard a gasp from the side.

Princess Leonora.

She was standing near a tree, clutching her chest. She wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at General Rajah Khanda.

Rajah was glistening with sweat. His leather tunic was torn slightly at the shoulder. He was breathing hard, his massive chest heaving, holding a giant sword, standing over the defeated monster.

He looked like a cover model for Barbarian Monthly.

Leonora swayed.

"Oh my," she whispered, her face turning a deep, alarming shade of red. "The... biceps..."

Rajah noticed her looking. He immediately straightened up, sucked in his gut, and flexed.

"PRINCESS!" he boomed. "THE PERIMETER IS SECURE! I HAVE DEFENDED THE PICNIC!"

Leonora made a small, high-pitched sound and fainted dead away into a bush.

"MEDIC!" Arjun yelled.

As the chaos descended again—Rajah rushing to fan the Princess, Cassian complaining about the cleanup costs, Rurik scolding me for being reckless—I patted the Chimera’s head.