The first real day of the Little Whiskers Daycare began with a success. Luna, true to her word, dropped off her little sister, Clover.
"She hasn't stopped talking about your 'magic carrots'!" Luna whispered, eyes wide with awe. "My parents are thrilled. Thank you, Primrose!"
"Happy to help," I beamed, taking the little bunny-girl's hand.
One 'proof of concept,' secured.
The morning was... surprisingly busy. My advertisement in the merchant's quarter had worked, just not on the nobles. A few squirrel-kin moms dropped off their (hyperactive) kids for an hour. A badger-kin tailor left his son (who was a digger) with me during his lunch rush. I was running a daycare, alright, just not for the B.A.D.s.
Still, the shop was full of life, and the light, cheerful chaos was a welcome change.
Then, at precisely 10:30 a.m., the bell jingled.
The shop went silent.
Alistair, the Archduke's chief-of-staff, stood in the doorway. His severe, handsome crane-kin features were pulled into a mask of pure disdain as he surveyed the "common" children. Behind his long legs, a small, purple-haired figure was hiding.
Alistair looked around the room like he was witnessing a crime scene.
"I still find this environment… unsuitable," he muttered, as if the word was physically painful.
"Sir Alistair! Welcome!" I said, trying to sound breezy.
Jasper Argentis peeked out. His golden eyes were bright and alert, a huge improvement from yesterday. He looked at me, and a tiny, shy smile formed.
Then he saw the other children. The squirrel-kin who was currently trying to climb my sign. The badger-kin who was digging in a (thankfully empty) planter.
His smile vanished, replaced by a look of confusion and betrayal.
"Who," he whispered, his voice tiny, "are they?"
Alistair's black eyes narrowed. "Lady Primrose. The Archduke expects his brother to have your full and undivided attention."
"This is a daycare, Sir Alistair," I said, my spine snapping into place. "All children get my full attention." I crouched down. "Hi, Jasper. Welcome to the Little Whiskers Daycare. These are... your classmates."
Jasper looked appalled.
The day was... an adventure. Jasper was not a team player. He was the Archduke's brother; he wasn't used to sharing. He sat in the corner, glaring, while Clover (the bunny) followed me around like a duckling.
The tension finally exploded right before lunch.
"Primrose gave me the Sunburst Soufflé first!" Clover declared, puffing out her chest. "She likes me best!"
Jasper shot up from his corner. "Nuh-uh! She came to my house! She's my chef! Right?"
They were glaring at each other. A who-do-you-love-more standoff. My gamer brain was screaming, This is a social link! Don't mess it up!
"Okay, critics," I announced, breaking the tension. "Time for a tasting menu."
I got them all seated. I made a new Temperature-Perfect Meal (a warm, savory custard) for Jasper, a new Soufflé for Clover, and gave my Calming Lavender & Honey Biscuits to the squirrel-kin.
As they ate, Jasper spoke, his voice muffled by the custard. "Why are they here?"
"This is a daycare, Jasper," I explained gently. "It's a place for parents to leave their children when they're busy, so the kids can be safe and have fun."
"And eat good food," Clover added.
"And eat very good food," I agreed. "The other children are just here for a few hours. Their parents will pick them up soon."
Jasper put his spoon down, a calculating look in his golden eyes. "...I want to be with you the whole day."
Clover's head shot up. "No fair! Me too!"
I had to defuse this. "Clover, your parents and your sister Luna would miss you terribly if you were gone all day! You have to go home and tell them what you ate, right?"
She considered this and nodded, satisfied.
I turned to Jasper. "And Jasper... the Archduke might not like you being away from the estate for that long."
Before he could argue, the bell jingled. The commoner moms were back. A flurry of thank you's and see you tomorrow's later, the shop was empty, save for me and Jasper.
The bell jingled one last time.
It was Alistair. But... someone was with him.
Oh, crap. Oh, crap, crap, crap.
Archduke Cassian Argentis was standing in my tiny, humble daycare.
My brain went completely blank. He's hot. He's hot. He's really hot. Stop it! Calm down! He's just a capture target!
I frantically tried to tuck a stray piece of my failed silver hair behind my fox-ear, smoothing my apron. "A-Archduke!" I squeaked. "What a... what an honor! I wasn't expecting..."
"I was in the area," Cassian said, his voice a smooth, cool tenor. His golden eyes slitted slightly as they scanned the room, taking in my hand-drawn sign, the tiny table, and the leftover crumbs. He looked... amused.
"Jasper," he called out. "It's time to go."
Jasper, who had been hiding behind the counter, ran out.
But he ran right past Cassian.
He ran straight to me and latched onto my apron with both hands.
"No!" he yelled, his voice surprisingly strong. "Don't wanna go! I want to stay!"
Alistair looked genuinely horrified. Cassian just watched, his face an unreadable mask, as his delicate, untouchable brother threw a full-blown, foot-stomping tantrum.
"I want to stay all day!" Jasper demanded. "Every day! With Prim! She makes the good food! You make the boring food!"
'Did he just call me Prim?'
Cassian's golden eyes flicked from his brother... to me. He was calculating. He hesitated, then looked at Alistair, then back at his clinging, pouting brother.
"...I see," Cassian said finally. "It seems my brother has made a decision. Lady Primrose, what are your rates for a... full-time arrangement?"
This is it! My capture chance!
I felt my face heat up. I gave him what I hoped was a seductive smile, but I probably looked like I was having a stroke. I did the shy hair-tuck again.
"Oh! You don't have to pay, Archduke!" my voice came out, high and breathless. "I would be honored to... to do anything for the Archduke's brother!"
... 'I'll gladly do anything'?! Did I just offer to be his indentured servant?! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! My brain has officially left the building!
The secondhand embarrassment was so strong I wanted to die.
Cassian... smirks.
It was just a tiny, sharp, cold lift of one corner of his perfect mouth. He knew what I'd just tried (and failed) to do. And he was just... ignoring it.
Why is he smirking?! Stop smirking!! That smirk could kill.
"That would be unfair to your other clients, Lady Primrose," he said, his voice all business. "And the Argentis family does not accept charity."
He turned to his steward. "Alistair. Pay Lady Primrose for a full year in advance. It seems my brother has a new... school to attend."
He had secured me. Not as a future mate, but as staff.
My face was burning. But as he turned to leave, and I saw the bag of gold Alistair was preparing, I didn't even care.
I had just officially enrolled my first B.A.D.
News, it turns out, travels faster than a carriage in the capital. Especially scandalous news.
The story that hit the aristocratic salons was this: The untouchable and cursed Jasper Argentis had been cured by a miracle-working tail-less fox-kin. Even more scandalous? The cold, pragmatic Archduke Cassian Argentis was now so enchanted by this miracle nanny that he was personally sending his brother to her commoner daycare. Every. Single. Day.
My Little Whiskers Daycare had gone from a failing nobody to the hottest, most bizarre topic of gossip in the city.
The B.A.D.s, I realized, weren't just Bachelors, Aristocrats, & Dads. They were also trend-setters.
My life settled into a new, wonderful routine. Jasper would arrive promptly at 9 a.m., his golden eyes bright, and he'd spend the day quietly helping me test recipes. Clover would join him after lunch, and the two "cured" picky eaters would sit at my tiny table, having very serious, five-year-old conversations.
I was safe. I was earning money. It was... nice.
And on the fourth day of this nice life, I decided to venture out.
"Okay, critics," I announced, tying aprons on my two star pupils. "My current recipe isn't working. It's too high-energy. I need to balance the Sun-Root starch with a Snooze-Berry fiber. We're going to the market."
Clover and Jasper both cheered. A trip to the market was the most exciting thing in the world.
The capital's central market was a loud, wonderful chaos. I had Jasper's hand in one of mine, Clover's in the other. I'd just finished haggling for the Snooze-Berries when I decided to reward my assistants.
I pulled out the failed test batch—a small bag of High-Protein, Energy-Burning Snacks that were, in my opinion, too savory.
"Okay, you two. Tell me what's wrong with these," I said, handing one to each.
They were happily munching away, Jasper looking thoughtful and Clover just looking happy, when it happened.
I felt a blur. A flash of white fur and pure, unadulterated chaos.
"MINE!" a tiny, feral voice shrieked.
A small, white-haired blur lunged, not at me, but at Jasper and Clover. He was trying to steal their food.
My reflexes, honed by years of catching falling pans, kicked in. I didn't think. I just moved.
"Oh no you don't!" I yelled, shoving Jasper and Clover behind me.
I spun around and collided hard with a solid, dark-blue wall. A wall that was, apparently, also moving very fast.
"Oomph!"
I was knocked completely off my feet. I didn't hit the ground. A steel-trap arm wrapped around my waist, catching me in a way that was less romantic dip and more snagging a sack of potatoes.
"Vali! Enough!" a deep, furious voice growled right above my head.
I looked up to thank my savior. And my blood ran cold.
He was hot, in the way a blizzard is impressive. He was about 25, with a massive frame crammed into a perfect, dark-blue military uniform. He had a shock of stormy grey-silver hair.
And he had cold, icy-blue eyes that were glaring right at me.
No. Nononono.
My mind flashed back to a forest. A giant wolf, fur the color of a winter storm. Icy-blue eyes.
My mind flashed to his Easy Mode game sprite: a ridiculously handsome man with stormy grey-silver hair and cold, icy-blue eyes...
Wait...That giant, angry, "hates-foxes," "too-good-for-thorns" wolf that just tried to eat me...
This was him? Lord Rurik Jaeger!
I was still dangling from his arm. He looked down at me, his icy-blue eyes narrowed, first in annoyance, then in... confusion.
He sniffed.
His eyes widened, just a fraction. He recognized me.
Not my face. My *scent*. The "mutt-stink" he'd been so disgusted by.
"You..." he growled, his voice a low, terrifying rumble. "You're that 'almost-lunch' fox."
My confidence was gone. I was just prey.
"P-please don't eat me!" I squeaked, my brain completely short-circuiting.
Rurik's handsome face contorted in bafflement. "What did you say?"
"GRRRR! MINE!"
The moment was shattered. The white-haired blur was back. This was *Vali Jaeger*, the Demon Cub. He was adorable—a tiny, chaotic puffball of white hair and crazy, bright pink eyes.
And he was currently in a tug-of-war with a very unimpressed Jasper over the last protein-snack.
"Vali! Release it!" Rurik boomed, dropping me (I landed on my feet, thank you) and stalking toward his son.
Vali just hissed, like a feral kitten.
Oh, for heaven's sake. My Top Chef mode slammed back into place, overriding my fear.
"He's not a demon, stop treating him like one," I snapped, "he's just hangry."
Rurik froze. "He's... what?"
"He's hungry and angry, hangry!" I said, marching past him.
"H-angry??" He muttered confused.
I grabbed another (failed) snack from my bag. "Hey! Feral One!"
Vali looked up, startled.
"You," I said, pointing at him. "Let go of that. This one is yours."
He looked at me, his pink eyes suspicious. He looked at the snack in my hand. He let go of Jasper's (now slobbery) treat and snatched the new one.
He sniffed it. He took a tiny, suspicious bite.
And he just... stopped.
The growling ceased. The crazy look in his eyes vanished. He sat down on the cobblestones and just... ate the biscuit. Normally.
I looked up.
Lord Rurik Jaeger, the Alpha of the Wolf Clan, the man who hated me, was staring at me. His jaw was on the floor.
He'd just watched a failed, tail-less fox-kin, his escaped prey, tame his Demon Cub... with a snack.
He was mortified. He was furious. And... he was desperate.
He pointed a finger at me. "You. My estate. Tomorrow."