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***
invitation from the princess
Kiera did not know what to make of the cream colored and nicely scented invitation she was handed by one of the First Princess' maids. The stony faced young woman approached her in the morning at the training grounds.
"What's that?" Cody furrowed his brow, coming closer to look down at the invitation in her hands. "Another invitation to the prince's palace?"
Kiera shook her head as Jade came to stand next to her. She too regarded the invitation with barely concealed curiosity, openly looking over the Beast General's shoulder to glimpse at the words on the wonderfully scented page.
"This is an invitation from the First Princess."
She frowned, reading the curvy lettering on the paper once more. She didn't understand why the princess would ever send an invitation out to her.
"Is she going to ask you about your relationship with the Third Prince?" Jade wondered aloud. The thought was enough to send Kiera into a panic.
"Don't be ridiculous." Kiera controlled her face as much as she could. Not looking behind her shoulder to her Captains, she refolded the invitation. "There is no relationship between us and therefore there's no reason for her to ask about it."
Kiera could tell by both of their looks that her Captains were not convinced.
"Princess Rosalind has invited me to a private salon session."
"What is that?" Cody scrunched up his face immediately while Jade also looked a bit confused.
"I am not sure either, but I can't refuse a direct invitation from the Solomon Princess." She'll have to ask Bryan later. She hoped the invitation she received from the princess wasn't going to end up being something burdensome for her.
Upon arriving at the First Princess' palace, she was greeted by the same maid that had given her the princess' invitation. The young woman curtsied to her with the same stony expression on her face and then quickly guided Kiera into the expansive princess' palace.
Kiera noted how much finer the exterior of the princess' palace was compared to Prince Sam's palace. The contrast was even starker once she entered the grandiose interior. She felt the indescribable feeling of being small underneath the spacious gold laden ceiling. She didn't know where her eyes were supposed to look at first as everything inside seemed too sparkling for her sensitive eyes to handle.
"This way please." The maid told her sternly, impatient with the Beast General.
Kiera followed the maid, her feet made loud sounds as they walked through the spotless corridors. They arrived at the most exquisite-looking doors Kiera had ever laid eyes on, and she instantly understood they had reached the First Princess' receiving room.
The maid knocked on the door.
"Announcing the arrival of the Beast General your Highness." The day of the scheduled meeting with the First Princess came much faster than Kiera thought. She only had three days to mentally prepare herself for the torturous human custom she was about to endure.
"Please come in." She heard the graceful voice and the maid took great care to open the doors. Kiera was ushered inside by the maid.
Kiera was once again struck by the immense sense of wealth she saw before her. It almost overshadowed the beauty of the First Princess as she sat gracefully on her plush couch. The delicate princess appeared to Kiera as someone taken straight out of a portrait, with her soft blonde curls that reached down her back and an angelic face. Kiera noted the color of her eyes and compared them to the Third Prince's.
"Greetings, Princess Rosalind." Kiera was about to bow, but changed her mind at the last moment and attempted a curtsy. After she curtsied she looked up at the Princess in search of any indication that she did something wrong, but there was no indication of that. The princess seemed unperturbed as she blinked her big emerald eyes.
"Welcome Beast General Kiera, please, come in and take a seat." The princess said, extending out her pale hand and gesturing towards the couch.
Kiera did as she was told, sitting down on the couch across from the royalty.
"I haven't had the time to properly meet you since the welcome banquet." The princess smiled and for some reason, Kiera felt a tinge of unease at the sight. "I wanted to get to know you more ever since that night, but you seemed too busy with the peace talks and training that I thought an invitation from me would only bother you. After much deliberation, I finally took courage and sent out an invite. I'm so happy you decided to accept my invitation."
"Thank you for inviting me your Highness." She replied after a brief moment of stunned silence.
"Shall we be off then?" The princess rose from her seat with the help of her lady-in-waiting and then the three of them left the room together.
"Have you ever been to a salon General?" The princess asked her as they walked out to the carriage that was waiting outside the palace.
"No your Highness."
"Well you're in for quite a treat General." She shot Kiera a sweet smile over her shoulder as she was helped into the carriage. Kiera entered the carriage after the princess' lady-in-waiting. Without thinking much of it, she closed the carriage door, not noticing the smirk on the lady-in-waiting's face.
Kiera rode the carriage with the princess in awkward silence as the princess and her lady-in-waiting happily chatted away while Kiera resigned herself to look out the carriage's window at the passing scenery as they made their way into the city.
They stopped in front of a lavish building in a part of the city that Kiera had never seen before. She marveled at the differences she saw between the places she saw with the Third Prince and where she and Princess Rosalind are at. She even thought she was taken to another city altogether.
The carriage door opened and the carriage's footman extended out a hand for the First Princess to take. The same hand was offered to the princess' lady-in-waiting but when the time came for Kiera to step out, she was quick to notice the footman did not offer his hand out to her. She was happy for it, as it showed he acknowledged her as a General, someone strong who did not need as much support as this Kingdom's princess.
The princess' knights were waiting for them at the foot of the building, proudly they stood tall as they lined up on either side of the entrance to the building.
Two other knights on horseback had followed their carriage, hopping off their horses to personally accompany the princess as she made her way into the building. Kiera followed behind the princess and her small entourage.
"Welcome Princess Rosalind." The manager of the building stood in wait as the princess entered. She noticed he wore an impeccably neat suit as he bowed his head to the princess. "It is an honor the princess has picked our salon for your gathering today."
The princess let her hand be kissed by the salon's manager. She gave a small smile, her green eyes twinkling in the light.
"Has everything been prepared for today's private session?" She asked the manager who promptly responded.
"Yes your Highness. The other noblewomen are waiting for you and the General."
"I hope you don't mind that I've invited other noblewomen, they were dying to meet you personally after the welcoming banquet." The princess told her with an apologetic look. "I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to introduce you to them."
Although she wasn't prepared to meet other people aside from the princess today, she nodded her head.
"Perfect! Thank you for understanding. Shall we head further inside then? I'm sure they've been eagerly waiting to meet you already."
Princess Rosalind nodded at the sharply dressed manager and he led them further into the building, stopping in front of two white double doors. He knocked on the doors, indicating the arrival of the princess and her main guest. Then he opens the double doors and bows his head before standing off to the side for the grand entrance of the princess.
All eyes were on the General and the princess. Looking at all the well-dressed ladies of the Solomon Kingdom, Kiera found the expressions on their faces eerie.
"Ladies, let's welcome our esteemed guest of honor for today's gathering." The princess' voice pierces the silence of the room as she gestures with the open palm of her hand towards Kiera.
"General Kiera Blackwater of the Beast People."
Kiera curtsied to the room full of noblewomen, and when she rose back up, she realized why the expressions on their faces seemed eerie to her. Every one of the noblewomen's eyes watched her every movement. Some whispered to each other, covering their faces with their decorative fans.
Despite the princess' generous words, Kiera wasn't today's esteemed guest.
No, by the looks of it, it seemed like Kiera was invited for the sole purpose of being the Solomon noblewomen's main entertainment.