Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband

Chapter 237: The Shadow, The Duck, and the Art of Stealth

The basic principles of assassination require three things: absolute silence, total darkness, and the element of surprise.

Currently, the Lord of Shadows was batting zero for three.

The afternoon sun was blazing over the manor’s eastern courtyard, entirely eliminating the cover of darkness. The element of surprise had been ruined twenty minutes ago, and absolute silence was a physical impossibility when dealing with a waterfowl.

Lucien knelt in the soft grass, his long legs folded beneath him. He was wearing a simple, dark tunic, his violet eyes narrowed in deep, tactical concentration as he looked at his newest apprentice.

Standing exactly two feet away, completely illuminated by the bright sunlight, was a bright yellow frog.

"Stealth is a state of mind, Pip," Lucien rumbled softly, his deep voice carrying the grave seriousness of a master passing down forbidden martial arts. "You must empty your thoughts. You must lower your center of gravity. You must move without displacing the air."

Pip stared at him. The toddler blinked his large, dark eyes, the stuffed frog eyes on the hood of his raincoat bouncing slightly. He raised a chubby hand and aggressively scratched his nose.

Standing beside Lucien, taking his role as the Warlord-uncle very seriously, was Silas. The five-year-old panther-cub was wearing a miniature version of Lucien’s dark training gear.

"He is wearing a highly reflective canvas armor, brother," Silas noted quietly, his violet eyes analyzing the toddler. "It is mathematically impossible for him to blend into the shadows. He is practically glowing."

"A true master adapts to his camouflage," Lucien insisted stubbornly. He looked back at the duckling. "Pip. Watch Silas. Observe the shadow-step."

Silas gave a sharp, formal bow. The little panther-cub crouched low to the ground. In the blink of an eye, his form seemed to blur, melting seamlessly into the long shadow cast by a nearby oak tree. He moved across the grass without a single blade rustling, popping out from behind a stone bench ten feet away.

"Ta-da," Silas whispered proudly.

Lucien nodded in approval. "Flawless execution. Now, Pip. Your turn. Become the night."

Pip took a deep breath. His little chest puffed out. He dropped down into what was essentially a very deep, wobbly squat. Then, with absolute determination, Pip grabbed the edges of his bright yellow raincoat and pulled the hood down so far it completely covered his face.

Waddle. Waddle. Waddle.

Pip took three blind steps forward, tripped over his own rubber boots, and face-planted directly into the soft grass with a muffled "Honk."

He didn’t get up. He simply lay there in the dirt, a motionless mound of bright yellow canvas, waiting for his applause.

Silas looked at Lucien. Lucien looked at Silas.

"His evasion technique is... unconventional," Lucien murmured, rubbing his temple. "But he is entirely committed."

A soft, ringing laugh echoed from the stone patio.

Juni was sitting at a wrought-iron table, sipping a cup of chamomile tea Primrose had brewed for her. She was wearing a comfortable, flowing sage dress, her magnificent silver-tipped wings resting lazily over the back of her chair. The golden mating band on her finger caught the sunlight as she rested her chin in her hand, watching the three boys with an expression of pure, overwhelming adoration.

"You are trying to teach a duck how to be a panther, Lucien," Juni smiled, her golden eyes sparkling with amusement. "He is fundamentally opposed to stealth. His entire biological imperative is to be loud and float."

Lucien sighed, though the sound was entirely fond. He stood up, his tall, imposing frame casting a long shadow over the grass. He walked over to the fallen yellow lump, reaching down with large, scarred hands to gently hoist the toddler back onto his feet.

Lucien carefully pushed the frog hood out of Pip’s eyes and brushed a stray blade of grass off his chubby cheek.

"You are a fierce warrior, Pip," Lucien praised gently, entirely ignoring the fact that his student had just defeated himself. "But perhaps we will focus on physical endurance today. Silas, initiate the evasion drill."

"Initiating evasion drill!" Silas chirped happily. The little panther-cub tapped Pip on the shoulder. "Tag! You’re it!"

Silas immediately bolted across the courtyard, laughing as he darted between the rose bushes.

Pip gasped, his eyes going wide with excitement. "Tag!" he shrieked, instantly abandoning all concepts of stealth to waddle furiously after his uncle, his little downy wings flapping under his coat.

Lucien watched them run for a moment, making sure Pip didn’t trip over any exposed roots, before turning and walking up the stone steps to the patio.

He didn’t pull up a chair. Instead, he stepped behind Juni, his large hands coming to rest gently on her shoulders. He leaned down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to the crown of her head.

Juni immediately leaned back against him, letting out a contented sigh as his thumbs began to lightly trace the tense muscles at the base of her neck.

"He is never going to be an assassin," Lucien murmured against her golden hair, his violet eyes tracking the bright yellow toddler currently trying to tackle a very patient panther-cub.

"Are you disappointed?" Juni asked playfully, reaching up to rest her hand over his.

"Not in the slightest," Lucien answered, and the absolute sincerity in his deep voice made her breath catch.

He moved around to the side of her chair, dropping to one knee so he was at eye level with her. He took her hand in his, his calloused thumbs brushing over the dark-silver sapphire ring he had given her.

"For years," Lucien said quietly, the noise of the Warlord estate fading into the background, "I lived entirely in the dark. I was a weapon. My hands were only meant to take things away. If someone had told me a year ago that I would be sitting in the sun, watching a child in a frog coat try to catch my brother... I would have told them they were mad."

Juni’s heart squeezed. She reached out, her fingers gently tracing the faint, pale scars on his jawline.

"You aren’t a weapon anymore, Lucien," she whispered fiercely. "You’re a husband. You’re a father. You’re the man who gave us a home."

Lucien turned his face slightly, pressing a kiss to the palm of her hand. His violet eyes, usually so cold and guarded to the rest of the world, were completely open to her, filled with a warmth that rivaled the afternoon sun.

"When I am with you, silver-wing," Lucien vowed softly, "I don’t want to hide in the shadows anymore."

Juni smiled, leaning forward to close the distance between them. Their lips met in a sweet, languid kiss, completely unhurried, anchored by the heavy, wonderful certainty that they had the rest of their lives to do exactly this.

Thwack!

Something small and relatively squishy hit Lucien directly in the back of the head.

Lucien slowly broke the kiss. He didn’t flinch, but his Warlord instincts flared instantly. He turned his head, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the perimeter for the projectile.

Sitting on the grass about five feet away was Pip. The toddler had paused his game of tag to aggressively throw a slightly bruised apple core at his parents.

"Ew! Kissing!" Pip announced loudly, his face scrunched up in deep toddler-disgust.

Silas popped his head out from behind a rose bush, nodding in solemn agreement. "Romance is a tactical distraction, brother. Keep your head in the game."

Juni burst into uncontrollable laughter, burying her face in her hands.

Lucien stared at the two boys. The fearsome Lord of Shadows, the executioner of the Empire, picked up the discarded apple core. He looked at Juni, a wicked, playful glint suddenly sparking in his violet eyes.

"A Warlord does not tolerate a strike without retaliation," Lucien deadpanned.

He casually flicked his wrist. The apple core sailed through the air and lightly bopped Pip right on the top of his frog hood.

Pip gasped in pure outrage.

"Attack the shadow-cat!" Silas commanded, immediately breaking cover and charging across the grass.

"ATTACK!" Pip honked, waddling furiously behind him.

Lucien let out a deep, rumbling laugh—a sound so rare and beautiful that it made Juni’s heart soar. He stood up from the patio, effortlessly catching both boys as they crashed into his legs, hoisting a giggling Pip into the air while Silas tried to wrestle his boots.

Sitting on the patio in the sunlight, watching her husband laugh as he wrestled with the boys, Juni took a slow sip of her tea.

Yeah. The shadows were entirely gone.