Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband

Chapter 220: The Eagle’s Legacy and the Shadow’s Vow

"They are usually not," Lucien confessed, his voice dropping so low it was almost a growl. "My hands were made for taking things apart, Juni. Not putting them back together."

Juni slowly turned her head, looking up at him over her shoulder. Her golden eyes were entirely fearless as they locked onto his.

"I don’t believe that," Juni said softly. "You put Pip back together when he didn’t have a family. And you put me back together today. I think your hands are exactly what they need to be."

Lucien stopped breathing. The absolute, unwavering faith in her eyes completely undid him. He wanted to pull her up from that bench. He wanted to wrap her in the shadows and hide her away from the rest of the world so nothing could ever hurt her again.

He slowly leaned down, his face just inches from hers.

"Honk!"

Lucien snapped backward, his spine turning rigid.

Pip waddled directly between them, completely ruining the heavy, romantic tension. The toddler was holding a massive, slightly squished green caterpillar in his chubby hand. He held it up proudly, offering it directly to Lucien.

"Bug!" Pip announced happily.

Juni burst into a sudden, bright fit of laughter. She covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders shaking with pure amusement as she looked at the terrifying assassin being offered a squished insect by a baby duck.

Lucien stared at the caterpillar. He let out a long, long sigh, the deadly Panther Warlord completely defeated by a two-year-old.

"Thank you, Pip," Lucien said gravely. He reached out with his bare, calloused hand and carefully took the squished bug from his son. "It is an excellent tactical prize. I will treasure it."

Pip beamed, flapping his little yellow wings happily before waddling off to find another treasure in the grass.

Juni wiped a tear of laughter from her eye, looking up at Lucien. "You know, you are going to spoil him completely rotten if you accept every bug he hands you."

"He is my son," Lucien stated simply, though a tiny, fond smile finally broke through his serious expression. "He deserves to be spoiled."

Lucien looked down at his bare hand, holding the squished caterpillar. Then, he looked back at Juni, his violet eyes warm and bright in the afternoon sun.

"Your wings are aligned," Lucien murmured, stepping back to give her space. "You should rest. Before Cassian comes out here and lectures us both on the dangers of humidity."

Juni smiled, standing up from the bench. She felt lighter than she had in months.

"Thank you, Lucien," she said. And this time, it wasn’t just for fixing her feather.

Standing behind the curtains in the living room, I couldn’t help the massive grin spreading across my face.

Yeah. They were going to be just fine.

---

There was a very specific, deeply comforting silence that settled over the cliffside manor after midnight. It wasn’t the tense, terrifying silence of a battlefield. It was the peaceful, heavy silence of a family that was completely, unequivocally safe.

Juni stood on the stone patio, wrapping a thick, woven shawl over her shoulders. The ocean breeze was cool and sharp, carrying the scent of salt and Primrose’s blooming night-flowers. She looked out over the dark, endless expanse of the sea. The moon was bright, casting a long silver path over the water.

"You should be resting, Juni. Cassian said the night air might aggravate your joints."

The deep, quiet rumble of his voice didn’t startle her this time.

Juni looked over her shoulder. Lucien melted out of the shadows beneath the patio awning. He had removed his suit jacket, wearing only a dark dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked tired, but his violet eyes were sharp, completely focused on her.

"Cassian worries too much," Juni said softly, turning back to look at the ocean. "I just needed to see the sky."

Lucien walked over slowly, his footsteps completely silent. He stopped beside her, leaving a respectful foot of distance between them. He rested his large, scarred hands on the stone railing.

"Your mind is not quiet," Lucien observed softly, looking at her profile in the moonlight. "What is troubling you?"

Juni let out a slow, shaky breath. She pulled the shawl tighter around her shoulders. The grief was still so fresh, a jagged wound she hadn’t had the time or the safety to properly tend to.

"His name was Sora," Juni whispered to the wind.

Lucien went completely still. He didn’t interrupt. He just turned his head slightly, giving her his undivided attention.

"He was an Eagle-kin," Juni continued, her voice trembling just a fraction. A sad, fond smile touched her lips. "He laughed at everything, and he flew faster than anyone I had ever met. He was the protector of our flock. And he was Pip’s father."

Lucien’s jaw tightened slightly, a dark, complicated emotion flashing through his violet eyes, but he kept his voice perfectly steady. "Where is he now?"

"He’s gone," Juni whispered, a single tear slipping down her cheek. "It happened only six months ago. The poachers... they didn’t just find us yesterday. They have been hunting our flock for months. During their first scouting attack, Sora took to the sky to draw their fire so the rest of us could hide deeper in the caverns. He led them away over the ocean."

Her voice cracked, completely breaking on the last word.

"He saved us, Lucien. But he never came back. I was completely alone. I had to lay my egg in the dark, terrified that every sound was a mercenary coming to finish the job. When Pip hatched a few months later, I didn’t even have time to mourn. I just had to survive."

She looked down at her hands, the exhaustion of the last half-year finally crashing down on her.

"Beast-kin babies grow quickly, but not this fast," Juni sniffled, wiping her eyes. "He was just a tiny duckling when the poachers finally breached our cave and I hid him in the grass. But since your brother Silas brought him here... the sheer amount of ambient magic in this house, the spirit-rich food Primrose feeds him... it accelerated his shift. He grew into a toddler in a matter of weeks because his body finally had enough mana and safety to evolve."

A quiet, broken sob escaped her lips. She covered her face with her hands, her silver-tipped wings wrapping around herself. "He shifted, he took his first steps, he said his first words... and Sora missed all of it. And then the poachers came back, and I thought I had lost Pip too."

She didn’t have to cry alone.

Lucien closed the distance between them. He didn’t hesitate this time. He wrapped his strong, solid arms around her, pulling her flush against his chest. He tucked her head beneath his chin, wrapping her in his warmth and the scent of rain and shadows.

"I have you," Lucien murmured fiercely, his voice vibrating against her. "Breathe, Juni. Let it go. I have you."

Juni collapsed against him, her hands gripping the dark fabric of his shirt as she finally allowed herself to break. She cried for Sora’s recent sacrifice. She cried for the terrifying, lonely nights in the cavern.

And Lucien simply held her. He was an unmoving pillar of strength, his hand gently stroking her golden hair, offering her a safe harbor she hadn’t known she desperately needed.

When her tears finally slowed, leaving her exhausted and drained, she rested her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady, calming beat of his heart.

"You fought a war by yourself while you were grieving, Juni," Lucien whispered, his thumb gently wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "You carried the sky on your shoulders so your son could live. I have never met anyone braver."

Juni slowly looked up at him. His violet eyes were blazing with an intensity that took her breath away.

"I walk in the dark. I have done terrible things," Lucien confessed softly, resting his forehead against hers. "But when I look at Pip, and when I look at you... I know the shadows led me exactly where I was meant to be. Sora gave his life to protect you. I promise you, Juni... I will spend the rest of mine making sure you never have to fight alone again."

Juni’s breath hitched. She looked into the eyes of the deadliest man in the Empire and saw the gentle, completely devoted father who had caught her son.

She reached up, her small hand resting flat against his chest, right over his heart.

"I know you will, Lucien," she whispered.