4 lion lord and king of beasts

Kiera stood underneath the full moon as its light brightly shined down at her in all her nakedness. Faraway she could hear the sounds of the other Beasts as they each were in different stages of their transformation.

Breathing in, she took in the cool night air. Then she rears her head back and lets out a bloodcurdling howl.

The effect is almost instant. She hears the howls of the other Beasts in response. Eager to please the alpha female.

They call her again, howling for her to join in. After all, there is only so much time in the night before the moon disappears. She could very well be left wanting for the next full moon if she doesn't act now.

But she doesn't. She will not. At least, not tonight.

She hastily slips back into her nightgown, wrapping her robe around her body as if to keep the moonlight from touching her skin. She retreats out of woods, retracing her steps back to her mansion.

Kiera stops at the black iron gates, watching the light coming from her upstairs window where she had lit a candle in her study. She wanted too badly to at least feel the moonlight on her skin that she had left the candle unattended. She sighs as she scolds her past self for being so careless.

The door to her mansion is open and billowing in the wind. Her bare feet push through the grassy front yard of the dark and gloomy mansion.

Although she paid for routine services to be done to the garden and the rest of the house, she still asked for them to keep its black color scheme. The black shutters and dark stonework on the outside sent good shivers down her spine. Inside the mansion, the deep walnut grained wood featured all throughout her home gives the house a truly noble feel to it.

Of course, being that she's still a commoner, she could only have a piece of land and this mansion. She really didn't mind though, as she was content with just that. All throughout her time at the Academy she never dreamed she would be able to own her own home, much less a mansion that holds thirteen rooms. All for her.

She closes the big front doors with a thud, looking out into her mansion's impressive foyer. She glides over the floors as she makes it further into the room and up the stairs, only stopping when she stands in front of the door to her study.

"There's still so much to do." She sits behind her desk and picks up her quill. This was no time to be enjoying the full moon. She needed to prepare as she didn't know what dangers lay outside of their country's borders. Being that she has a practical mind, she was able to quickly switch her mind into thinking about their travel plans.

She only went to bed once she had made satisfactory lists of all the things she had to do come morning.

Her morning preparations were cut short however, as one of the King's falcons arrived at her window carrying a letter directly from the King, requesting for her presence at the Palace.

"You called for me your Majesty?"

Kiera entered into the King's private study without knocking, something she had been allowed to do by the King himself after Kiera would repeatedly knock at the door until she heard the definitive answer from the King that she could enter.

She stopped short upon entering the room. As her eyes fell to the three figures that sat on the King's couches, she automatically knew who had really called for her presence at the palace.

"Oh Kiera! It's such a pleasant thing to run into you here!" She blinks back her annoyance as the middle aged Beast stands up from the couches. His neatly brushed back hair and grey eyes regarded her in a way she thought only hunks of meat being sold at the market could be seen.

The previous twelfth Beast General extended out one of his hands towards her and she took it out of politeness for her predecessor. Behind him is his son, to which her hand was promptly passed on to in an intimate greeting.

"This is my son Robert, he's a Lieutenant in the seventh General's tenth squadron."

They smile at each other as Robert turns her hand and places a delicate kiss on the back.

"I've heard much about you Kiera Blackwater. Rumors do not do you justice. You are much more beautiful than they say."

"You are too kind."

She sits down at one of the couches and immediately her predecessor's son takes a seat next to her as his father sits down on the couch next to the King.

It took two long hours for the father and son pair to excuse themselves from the King's study. Throughout the two hours she was forced to hear all about Robert and how his brilliant tactical strategies have led him to rise up in rank. His father kept saying the same things over and over again, making her think he wanted her to start to believe they were meant for each other.

The King sighs as he hangs his head in shame, hiding his face behind his big hand.

"I apologize Kiera. This morning I finally caved in after all of his incessant requests to help his son meet with you." He mumbles out from behind his hand, still sitting on his couch across from her.

"No need to apologize to me your Majesty." She shakes her head, understanding that the King sometimes had to please the nobles even though he didn't want to.

"What?" The King removes his hand from over his face to look at her in surprise. "Don't tell me you actually enjoyed the young man's company?"

She openly laughed at his question.

"No. I was only saying that to make you feel better about calling me to the palace for such a reason and try to set me up with a man."

"Right." The King sighs again. "I don't know whether to be relieved that you took no interest in Robert or worried that you're still alone even when I gifted you a big piece of land and a mansion."

"No one has caught my attention yet. I'm alone in my mansion by choice your Majesty." She drinks from the tea cup that was placed in front of her. She has heard the same lecture by the King many times now so she knew what to say to make him drop the subject a lot faster.

"Kiera," he begins his lecture, "although I am not your father, I can't help but feel worried about you. You almost never take any breaks from training, and whenever you do, you take all your soldiers and go out on missions. I appreciate your effort, really, I do. But that isn't healthy. You need to find another reason for continuing on."

"Being stuck in the past isn't going to allow you to take the first step into the future. You'll find that out only when it's too late." He shakes his head and his brown mane elegantly falls onto his shoulders. "Take me for example, I didn't spend nearly enough time with my Mate until it was too late." His amber eyes held so much pain within them that she had to look away for a brief second. She knew the story of their late Queen and her tragic death.

"She died giving birth to our son, and now I'm alone, left thinking about all the things we should've done together while she was still among the living."

He clears his throat after spending a moment or two with a glazed look over his eyes. Now he was back to being his usual regal self.

He rises up from the couch, coming close to her.

"I'm not pushing you into doing anything. I just don't want you to turn out like me. Take your time Kiera, love only happens when it's the right time but that doesn't mean you should shut any open doors should they present themselves to you. The only way you can find happiness is if you let happiness find you."

He shrugs his wide shoulders.

"Or at least that's how the saying goes."

The King gave her shoulder a quick pat, satisfied with all that he has said.

"You may go now Kiera. Again, I'm terribly sorry to have wasted your morning like this. Now that you've at least met his son, you can do whatever you like. Reject him if you want. I have done my part."

"Thank you for your words your Majesty. I'll excuse myself and be on my way." Kiera bowed her head before leaving the King's study.

She knew the reason behind why her predecessor was hell bent on getting her and his son together. He hopes she would want to Mate with his son and in turn he would gain access to the sizeable property she had acquired from the King.

She knew her piece of land was nothing to snuff at. She owns acres and acres of land in the mountains. Who knows how many riches could be hidden within her property, and her predecessor wants it all.

Despite her predecessor's wishes, she wasn't about to give up her land or her mansion. She wasn't in the slightest least bit interested in his son and she wasn't planning on Mating anytime soon. She loved her privacy and she wouldn't have it any other way.