Beast and Prince
"Having a Human Mate is nothing but trouble." The prince's eyes shifted, darkening a bit as he leaned towards her. She was startled by his sudden movement that she did not notice his hand sliding across the cushion of the couch to touch her hand. Her eyes jumped from his face to their touching hands. The warm feeling she had was the result of his slight touch. "I won't run away." She snatched her hand away, hating the way her breathing had hitched as he peered into her blue eyes. "Why is that, your Highness?" Her upper lip curled up in a sneer. "You might not be scared now, but there's not a single human that doesn't succumb to their fear." "Kiera I've been inundated with kidnapping and assassination attempts since my life began. Trying to scare me off as you did to those noblewomen isn't going to work." His soft dark eyebrows knitted together, and a look of exasperation was beginning to take shape on his handsome face. Kiera scoffed, keeping the sneer on her lips. "We shall see about that." She did not know what had come over her as her hands went up to push on the prince's shoulders. His green eyes widened as he looked up at her, now trapped underneath her. He was held down by her hands as she climbed on top. Her eyes shone a dangerous blue. A predator's gaze. Her hair fell, the tips of her raven hair brushing the prince's face. "I can rip you to shreds." She said with force behind her words. "With a single bite, I can tear chunks of your flesh clean off." She lowered her face down to him. She was so close to him now that she could feel his hot breath on her face. She could hear his crazed heart as it beat against his chest. His breathing became ragged as he stared back into her predatory gaze. "I can, and I am quite capable, of eating you." A playful smile bloomed on his lips, and determined to drive her insane, he brought his face forward and whispered into her ear. "Please do." ———————— Fifty years of peace are coming to a close. The Golden Rose Treaty between Beasts and the rest of the continent brought an era of temporary peace for all the kingdoms. Now, the leaders of the kingdoms must gather to begin drafting another treaty. Deep South in the heart of Wolfcrye Forest lies the capital of the Beast Kingdom and twenty-five-year-old Kiera Blackwater is one of twelve Generals in the Beast Army. All her life she has dedicated herself to punishing the Beasts who lose sight of their humanity, but all that is put on hold when she is chosen by her King as part of the peace treaty delegation. Kiera is then thrown into the confusing world of humans, where women are expected to be docile and kind, complacent and never opinionated, everything Kiera is not. There she meets the equally as confusing Third Prince of the Solomon Kingdom, who is nothing as he seems. Ever smiling and with eyes full of mischief, the prince is every bit perplexing as the human customs she has come to see. She is even more baffled when the prince is determined to become her Mate, proposing a three-month deal that he can win her heart. As trouble spells the end of peace forever, the Beast General will have to struggle against her rising feelings as the prince inches closer to capturing her heart. ———————— Update Schedule: Once every week ***Cover art is not mine***
dinner invitation at the prince’s palace
Kiera wanted to outright refuse his invitation, but the more she stared into his glittering emerald eyes, the more she found she couldn't find it within herself to say no.
"Your Captains are also welcomed to come." He quickly added. "We haven't had the time to properly speak with each other and I'd like to remedy that."
"To speak? You mean to speak about the Golden Rose treaty?" Prince Sam blinks his green eyes at her before slowly opening his mouth.
"Yes, to talk about the peace treaty, but also to get to know more about each other."
The words that left his lips were very innocent at the surface, but she knew she was walking a very fine line. Her Captains also knew this, as all their eyes congregated on her, waiting for her response with bated breath.
They were anticipating a rejection, but when one did not leave her lips, all her Captains widened their eyes.
"We accept your invitation Prince Sam."
Glee was evident on the Third Prince's handsome face and before she could fully register what she had said, the Prince bowed his blond head towards her.
"Thank you for accepting my invitation. I will be sending one of my carriages over to the main palace in the evening." When he raises his head, his eyes seem to be only focused on Kiera. "I'll be waiting patiently until then." She couldn't be too sure, but it seemed to her the prince was trying to tell her something, as if his words held a different meaning that she was somehow supposed to decipher.
Prince Sam and his aid bid their farewells to Kiera's Captains, leaving the training grounds and leaving Kiera to deal with the aftermath.
Her Captains jumped on her as soon as the Third Prince and his aid were out of earshot.
"General, what the heck was all that?" Cody interrogated her first, followed by Jade.
"Who was that? That was the Third Prince right? He's not at all how I imagined he would conduct himself." Her second Captain shook her head, and Kiera knew her opinion on the Third Prince was changing as she talked.
"I'm surprised. I never knew the humans could be so bold." Jade lets out a deep sigh, her eyes seemingly looking dreamily off in the direction where the prince and his aid disappeared off to.
"You aren't seriously considering him for a Mate?" Cody scoffed as he turned to her. "I expected Jade to lose her head over a human but I never thought you would do the same."
"You forget yourself Cody. I don't need a Captain who questions their General." The tone in her voice makes Cody take a step back. His head lowers slightly. "I cannot easily refuse royalty from another Kingdom. Especially when we are in the midst of redrawing the treaty."
"General, if I may interrupt." Bryan stepped in between Kiera and Cody, his clear eyes holding no hint of judgement towards the General. "Our soldiers are still in the middle of their training. We should get back to overseeing their progress."
Always the mediator, her first Captain appealed to them three to stop their squabble. Kiera nodded her head once, agreeing with Bryan. Whenever he took it upon himself to end their bickering, it was a clear sign for her that she had lost her composure.
She took a deep breath.
"You don't need to worry about me Cody," at the mention of his name, Cody's head whipped up, looking at her with bewildered eyes. "I am not considering the Third Prince for my Mate."
Kiera shook her head, as if driving her words into her own skull.
"Now that that is out of the way, we need to get back to training. After that I expect you three to be on your best behavior at the Third Prince's palace during dinner. Am I being understood?"
Her eyes stared hard at her biggest instigator, who only nodded his head begrudgingly. He walked away with his arms crossed over the back of his sandy blond head.
"Don't worry about him General. I'll make sure he doesn't embarrass you." Jade smiled at her reassuringly. "But what do I wear to dinner tonight?"
Kiera took a moment to think before responding to her.
"I think any type of formal wear should be fine." She nodded at her suggestion before leaving her and Bryan to go back to oversee her own squadron.
"Thank you Bryan." She looked over to the Bear, giving him one of her appreciative smiles.
"I hope you don't mind me prying General." Her interest is instantly piqued, as Bryan was never the one to pry into others' lives. "Among us I have the most experience dealing with humans." He began, timidly looking down at the ground.
"I fell in love with a human," he cleared his throat but still continued on, "and I wanted you to know that I'm always available if you ever need someone to talk to." She had never seen her first Captain in such a shade of red before. The sight was enough to make her appreciative smile turn even sweeter.
"I understand. Thank you for your kind words, but like I said, I don't intend on making the Third Prince my Mate."
He nodded, still looking down at the ground before he left her side to go back to his own squadron. Kiera watched his retreating back, thinking how such a man was able to hold on to his human lover for so long.
She remembered Bryan's lover, a small and lovely woman whose smile was enough to make any Beast feel her kind nature. Bryan was brighter then. He would smile more often and his laughter would always ring out the loudest whenever they joked. Then, from one day to the next, he changed. Kiera didn't need to ask, for it seemed like the entirety of the Beast Army knew what had occurred.
Bryan's love had left him, taking his heart with her and leaving him with nothing but a hole in his chest and the ghost of her bittersweet memory.
It reminded her that if she wasn't careful enough, she could easily end up the same.
Bryan takes after one of my very good friends. His heart was broken and he was sad for a while. But now he's happy and in love again! So don't let setbacks pull you back in life, you'll miss out on a lot of opportunities that way.