a terrible feeling

A fiery sensation exploded inside of Kiera. It started in her belly and slowly made its way through her entire body. She did not know how long their kiss was, for when they finally parted, she was gasping for air.

She opened her eyes to find the prince's beautiful green irises alight with a fervor she had never seen before. His arms went around her waist and brought her tighter against his body. Their chests were pressed together, their breaths in synchrony as their chests rose and fell.

There was a warmth that radiated from the places she was touching him, and Kiera wanted to see if it could spread to other parts of her body as well.

She hungrily found his lips again, her mouth drawing in his velvety lips after her tongue licked his bottom lip. She let out a soft moan when she felt his hands run underneath her blouse. Kiera hadn't the faintest clue how he had managed to slip his hands under without her noticing.

"Your Highness," she sucked in her breath when his touch traveled close to her breasts.

"Sam," he corrected before taking her lips again. Her mind was reeling as she was assailed by his mouth and by his hands. He deepened their kiss when his hand cupped her breast. She opened her mouth to moan again but the sound was muffled by their kiss. Sam took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside.

His tongue glided against her tongue as she tasted his saliva, she was all too aware of how his hand played with her breast. She could feel her nipple stiffening, poking through her silky white blouse.

The fiery sensation throughout her body was now concentrated in one area, between her legs. She could also feel a bulge hardening against her thigh and she knew if they didn't stop now, they would soon move past a point of no return.

She pushed away from him. A string of saliva appeared between their lips when their mouths separated, still connecting them.

"That's enough," Kiera said and a look of confusion shot through Sam's eyes.

She cleared her throat and moved away from the prince. Now that their bodies were not touching, her body was sensitive to every movement she made. She did not feel the bulge pressing up against her anymore.

She stood up from the couch. "Please excuse me," Kiera said without looking at him. Her face became flushed as it dawned on her how close she was to marking him as hers.

"Kiera," Sam began, reaching out to her. She evaded his reach and walked away.

"This was a mistake." Kiera heard herself say as her fingers went up to her lips. Then she turned and fled out of the room.

She safely escaped the prince's palace without running into any of his staff. Kiera climbed into the carriage that was waiting, where it had dropped her off in front of the palace not too long ago.

"Take me back." She told the footman before closing the carriage door with a thud. Her fingers were still touching her lips. She feared everyone would be able to tell what she had been up to if they saw her like this.

Her mind replayed the events that had occurred, and with each iteration, she grew more convinced that she had lost her mind. What in the world had possessed her so?

Her hand went from her lips to her forehead. Forming a fist, she knocked it against her head.

"What have you done Kiera?"

Even though she asked aloud, no one answered her.

Haggard and all out of sorts, Kiera climbed out of the carriage after the footman opened the door for her. She had wiped her lips as best as she could as the carriage made its way back to the main palace, but she was still wary of running into anyone she knew on her way to her quarters.

Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when a familiar sandy blond-haired young man leaped out from behind the bushes on her way to the main palace entrance.

"Cody." She gathered her composure as the young man shook the leaves from his hair. She hoped her Captain had not seen the nervousness written on her face.

"General, where have you been?" She tried to keep the expression on her face neutral as he asked that question. A small part of her began to fret at the thought of her Captain somehow knowing what she had been up to.

"I was out," Kiera said curtly.

"With the Third Prince?" Her eyes narrowed when he mentioned Prince Sam.

Cody sniffed the air between them. "I can smell his scent coming from you. I must be right then."

"What is this about Cody?" Exasperated, she sent him a chilling look. "I don't have time for this."

"Why? Did the prince give you any clues? Are you going to go report the information to his Majesty?" He asked innocently, genuinely interested in any of the information she could have gotten from the prince. That was when she realized he had no suspicions about her actions. She only smelled of the prince, but he assumed it was because she was at the prince's palace discussing the investigation.

She released a sigh, her fingers going up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Yes, Cody, I am on my way to report to our king. Now step out of my way, I'm in a hurry." She walked around him, but he stuck with her, walking beside her as they walked up to the main palace.

"Can I come? I want to know what new information that man had. From the very beginning, I had a feeling he was up to no good. He kept latching himself onto you, pretending he was harmless when he was a wolf in disguise all along." He said as he crossed his arms behind his head.

She tensed as he continued talking about the prince. She was uncomfortable as he droned on even as they walked through the palace corridors.

Kiera and Cody were heading in the direction of the King of Beast's room, but she knew she could not request an audience with her king in her present state. Cody might have been too innocent to understand why she smelled so strongly of the prince, but King William would catch on quick. If she shows herself now she would never hear the end of it.

She stopped walking and Cody simply turned around to look at her.

"General? Why did you stop?"

"I need to confirm some," she paused to think, "details. Before I can make my full report to the King."

"What details? Is it something that I can help with?"

She shook her head.

"I have to confirm it myself. I don't want to say it here because we're out in the open."

He nodded his sandy head, but it looked like he was unhappy with her decision.

"Well, what should I do in the meantime?"

Surprised, she did not answer him immediately. Her Captain had never been the one to chase after her for orders. He despised being told what to do. Most of the time she was content with letting him do what he liked since he has always been self-sufficient. He knew what needed to be done and performed his duties efficiently.

Her eyes looked to the side, unsure what to tell the restless young man.

"Help Bryan or Jade complete their tasks." She handed off Cody to her other two Captains. Surely they could keep Cody company as they kept the true purpose behind their tasks secret from Cody, as he could never pull of covert missions. "At least until we get more information."

"I haven't seen Bryan in days, and Jade is off doing who knows what." Kiera watched in amusement as her third Captain fumed when Jade's name came out of his mouth. She still remembers how awestruck he was at the sight of her Second Captain at the ball.

A knowing smile spread across her lips.

"I know what this is about." Cody looked at her curiously. "Feeling quite lonely when Jade isn't there to keep you company?"

The tips of his ears burned bright red at her teasing. Scowling, he brought his arm up to hide the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks.

"I'm sure if I send for Jade she will come. Is that why you came to me? So that I would call for her to see what she was up to?"

"W-what are you talking about?" He hissed. "Stop saying such nonsense!"

She watched, satisfied with herself, as Cody turned and ran away from the conversation. As she watched Kiera failed to notice the silently approaching Bear. It was when she turned around that she saw his tall looming body.

"Bryan." She said, startled as the man looked at her curiously. Her cheeks began to heat up as she was sure Bryan could smell the prince's scent on her.

"Are you all right General?" He surprised her by asking. "He didn't force you did he?" He hesitated when asking her, his grey eyes peered at her in pure concern.

She had to smile at him then. As he nervously stood there waiting for her answer, she shook her head.

"Do you truly believe that man is stronger than me?"

He shook his head. "No, but even the strongest are weak against certain types of people."

His wisdom showed through most when it was about the matters of the heart. Kiera tilted her head to the side and thought about Bryan's father. They really couldn't be more different.

"It was I who made the first move this time." She confessed in a low voice, looking away from him.

Bryan released a sigh of relief.

"Cody had mentioned you have been quite busy these days. Is it because of the task I gave you?" She successfully changed the subject. Her whole body radiated in authority as she switched gears into a topic she was most comfortable talking about.

"Yes General."

"Good, and we're you making your report to the King?"

He nodded his head.

"Anything noteworthy that you had to report?" She was hopeful for at least some morsel of a lead in their investigation, but that hope was dashed when he shook his head.

She sighed.

"Let's hope Jade has had more luck." She gave Bryan a reassuring smile when the Bear looked crestfallen, no doubt thinking he has somehow failed his mission.

"Keep up the good work." She reached out to give him a solid pat on his back. "Don't worry so much. We will find whatever piece of information we're missing. Then we will head home as soon as the treaty is signed."

"General," her hand froze in midair as she was patting his back, the spooked look on her first Captain's face caused a chill to run down her spine, "I have this awful feeling."

"It might be all in my head, but there's this feeling I have that something terrible is heading towards us."

Her brows scrunched together. "Us?"

"The Beasts."