an unexpected development

"Congratulations General, although I have to admit I am going to miss you." Her second Captain tried her best to not show Kiera a sorrowful expression but the young fox Beast failed terribly. Kiera saw the way she grasped the edge of the couch cushion.

"Jade," she smiled because the young woman looked devastated, yet she wished Kiera all the best. "I am also going to miss you, the both of you."

Her eyes cut to her brooding third Captain, who had refused to sit on the couches and instead, watched from across the room with his arms crossed. He wore a dark expression as he leaned against the windowsill of Kiera's room. He offered no congratulatory remarks and remained in the back of the room.

"And you are staying as well?" Jade's question aimed at the man seated across from them.

Bryan nodded, giving Jade a small smile. Before this, Kiera had spoken with Bryan about her decision to stay with the humans. Somehow she was filled with a sense of reassurance when he told her he had decided to do the same. He wished to remain with his mate and son, not wanting to miss any more time to see his son grow up.

"Gaspar was right," she turned her head in Cody's direction. "You became someone else after meeting that man."

"Cody!" Jade jumped up, quick to defend Kiera. Under his accusatory glare, Jade seethed. "How dare you-"

Kiera lifted her hand, stopping Jade from saying any more.

"I didn't realize you and the tenth General were on such friendly terms." Her stare was met with silence as the young man thought of an excuse.

"What else has the General been whispering into your ear? And for how long have you been listening?" Her verbal attack must have hit the nail on the head for he turned his head, indignant as if he could not bear listening to her any longer.

"I have always been loyal to you." Some of Kiera's anger dissipated once she heard him.

"I don't understand, I thought you would be happy now that you have a clearer shot to become the Twelfth General."

"I," he paused, "don't know." Kiera heard only confusion in his voice.

Then he stormed out of the room.

"I will talk to him." Jade quickly got to her feet.

"Wait a moment Jade." She stopped in her tracks as soon as Kiera's voice reached her ears.

"Another reason why I called for this meeting is to inform you all that I will be officially stepping down from my position after the peace treaty has been completed and signed."

"The final discussion is scheduled to take place in a week," Jade looked from Bryan to Kiera. "After that, there will be an ending celebration, then the Beasts will go back to Wolfcrye."

"But that is so soon…" Her face showed her shock at the short time they had left with Kiera as their General. "We still have much to prepare for. Not to mention we still have to break the news of your resignation to the rest of the battalion."

"The human Kings seemed to have come to a favorable agreement between themselves, and the sooner the Beasts return to the Forest, the better." King William believed as long as the Beasts left Solomon, the safer our people would be. It wouldn't matter if Barghests suddenly appeared in Solomon. It wouldn't matter if one or two of the Deranged made their way to the human Kingdoms. There would be no one to blame if the Beasts retreated back to their homeland.

"The Last Rites," Jade looked unsure whether or not to ask, "when will they take place?"

"After the ending celebration."

After answering her question, Jade shut her mouth tightly. It was clear to Kiera that her second Captain was putting great effort to keep herself from crying. She left Kiera's room with her lips still pursed tightly together.

Byran left shortly after Jade, and then Kiera was left alone in her room. She wasn't alone for long though, as she heard a knock at her door.

"Cody?" She raised an eyebrow as she saw the wavy curls of his sandy-colored hair. "Is there something more you wanted to say?"

He entered the room again. He was probably forced to by Jade, as he seemed very reluctant to speak with her.

"Are you sure you won't regret this?" He asked her begrudgingly as he chose to stare up at the ceiling.

"Who can say?" She answered honestly. "If you were in my shoes wouldn't you do the same? Let's say if Jade were to suddenly decide she wanted to stay, would you stay behind with her?"

Surprisingly, he did not vehemently deny his feelings in front of her. He said nothing and continued to stare up at her ceiling. After a while, he opened his mouth.

"I think I can understand if you put it like that."

Kiera brought her hand up to hide her laugh. He must have not noticed she was smiling because he continued.

"Jade said the Last Rites will be after the celebration." There was a somberness in his voice.

"That is the plan."

"Can't they make an exception? To be stripped of what you are is like killing yourself. You have done so much in service of the Kingdom, surely King William can sway the Grand Council's mind." He was back to being angry, finally stripping his eyes away from just staring at the ceiling.

"You know as well as I do that we must follow the Grand Council's rules if we want to keep the lives of our people safe. Can you imagine what humans would do if our secret came to light and they perceived us as a threat? We might be mighty in comparison to them, but we are far fewer. Who do you think would win if a full-scale war were to break out? We have just barely managed to come out of a state in which our people were barely surviving with the constant attacks from monsters and the Deranged alike."

"No," she shook her head, "I can live without my Wolf."

"Can you, really?" The way Cody looked at her, it was as if he doubted her every word. "Can you live with the idea that you will no longer be the Blackcrested Wolf?"

***

"With this final signature, the redrafting of the Golden Rose Treaty will have concluded." The Solomon King beamed with pride. Now that hours of discussion between the Kingdoms had ended, they were happy with the ending results. All territorial disputes were easily put to rest once the land was bought by the wealthy Solomon King. As it turns out, the land the Western and Eastern Kings were fighting over was land that offered little to no monetary value. Nevertheless, the Solomon King paid an obscene amount to purchase the land, even offering the other King an amount that was satisfactory to him, on the promise that he would not dispute the rightful claim.

"Please step up to sign the document, King of Beasts." King Gerard offered the ornamental quill to King William and stepped away so the giant man could sign the piece of paper that ensured peace for the next hundred years, the next time the Beasts would venture into the human lands again.

As hard as they tried, both the Solomon King and Sam's older brother could not get King William to agree to routinely join military forces in order to cull the seasonal wave of monsters every couple of years. The Lion Lord said Beasts preferred to keep to their homeland and that this is the way it has always been. The King and prince could not argue after that.

"May there be eternal peace between the four Kingdoms." King William said as he bent over the parchment to sign his name.

Kiera felt pride when she saw the signature of her King on the treaty. Her final mission ended in a success and that was enough for her.

Everyone in the discussion room applauded after King William signed the treaty. She was one of the people in the room who applauded more enthusiastically.

"I couldn't help but notice your soon-to-be mate was absent from today's historic meeting," Helios said to her in a voice only Beasts could hear. They were leaving the discussion room, filing after their King.

Kiera stopped in her tracks, remembering Sam had done this before and had waited for her in another hallway.

"Oh, I believe I know that look." The Lion Lord peered over his shoulder at her. "I won't keep you away from your beloved any longer than I need. Besides, the treaty has been signed which means your duty is almost over." King William waved her off, "You may go to him."

She bowed to her King before leaving to go find wherever Sam was probably hiding.

She found that she couldn't smell his scent when she sniffed the air, but she persisted, going to the same hallway where Sam had hidden behind a potted plant.

Just as she suspected, he wasn't there when she searched behind the plant. Kiera sighed and walked into another deserted hallway, believing he had chosen another place to hide this time.

She sniffed the air, letting her nose be the indicator which told her whether Sam was close.

After going through a series of empty halls, she was met with a strong scent. One she recognized immediately.

Her heartbeat quickened and she broke out into a run, her body carrying her towards the sickening scent of blood.

She ran and turned the corner into the hallway where the scent emanated, hoping desperately she would not be met with Sam's mangled and bloody body.

Her eyes fell to the body in the middle of the hallway. A river of dark red blood trickled from the body and down the length of the hall.

"Sam!"