He exhaled, his breath leaving through the cracks in the hands he held up, covering the bottom half of his face. With his elbows resting on top of his thighs, he listened to her retelling of the story that had made the Beasts.
They were cursed to transform into beasts for all eternity because of the past evils of their ancestors. As soon as they grew up, every Beast would be told the story of how they came to be. It was a story that gave her people many ranging emotions. Most never spoke of it after hearing it.
She realized she had never spoken more about the story after it was first told to her. She remembered she had thrown up after hearing it, but what happened afterward she could not remember. All she remembered was the incredulity she felt. She had to spend a whole day and night, curled up on top of her wooden bed at the Academy, feeling sick to her stomach.
Now that the story was finished, a pestilent silence hung in the air. Kiera kept her eyes downcast. She was a proud Beast and she loved her people, but the implications of their origins were nothing short of revolting. Surely the prince had the same thought, for he hadn't broken the silence between them.
She heard him clear his throat finally and she resisted her impulse to turn her head to the side. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see the expression on his face quite yet.
"I admit that I find myself at a loss for words General." His words caused her to sigh.
"It's not a story that is talked about frequently in the first place your Highness. Most Beasts cannot even stomach knowing such a story."
"And your king wanted me to know? What reasons would King William have to tell me such an important part of your history?"
She lifted her gaze and turned her head to look at the prince squarely. She found there was no hint of a smile on his face. His green eyes were steady as he waited patiently for her to speak.
"He believes you can help us. For this, you will have to understand us and our," she paused before she brought herself to speak the word, "curse."
"Our curse to become animals every full moon. Some of us can last longer without transforming but for most Beasts, they will need to shift into their other form at least once during every moon cycle."
"Then the wolf that was seen on the palace grounds? The one that attacked the hunters. It was you?"
She nodded her head. "Jade needed to transform and so I took her to the Royal Hunting Grounds. I didn't expect there were humans there at night."
"Then, Beasts are humans that can transform into animals at will?" Again, she nodded.
"Wolves, bears, foxes, lions, hyenas. All kinds of animals, even prey animals like rabbits, horses, oxen, and elk. The type of Beast you are is determined by your parents."
"So it's hereditary." He mused, straightening up his upper body to sit upright on the couch beside Kiera. She could see his line of thinking before he asked the question. "And the children that are born from different Beast species?"
"Their children will take on the whichever. A mixed couple could have one child take on their mother's or father's Beast." She faithfully answered his question.
"And a child between a human and a Beast?"
"It's not common." She replied immediately, her lips curving down. Realizing she did not answer his question, she amended her response.
"The child would be a Beast. And all of the children that follow. They will all be Beasts."
"Is a child between a human and a Beast truly not common?" He tilted his head, now smiling.
"When would a human ever set foot inside the Forest? Besides, even if the two end up meeting, most humans would find the notion of their children becoming animals horrid. Almost all humans Mates end up leaving their partners after learning the truth."
"Is that so?" Something about the way the prince said that irked the Beast General.
"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."
She breathed out. Flabbergasted by his answer. He didn't seem the least bit affected by her warnings.
"Kiera, I'm starting to suspect that you are trying to seduce me."
She glared at him which only made him grin with glee.
"I don't mind a little biting. Maybe something a little more if you'd like."
Exasperated with him, she placed one of her hands over his mouth to keep him from speaking anymore.
Almost as soon as she put her hand on him, she felt a wet sensation brush up against the palm of her hand. It was enough to send a jolt of electricity up her arm. She realized it was the prince's tongue that was seductively sliding against her skin.
"Stop that." She breathed hotly. It was perturbing to her how fascinating she found his actions to be as he continued making swirling patterns across her palm with his wet tongue.
"Stop." She pleaded with him now as she felt a hand touch her side. She looked and found the prince had slipped his hand to her waist while she had been distracted by his tongue.
She quickly moved her hand that had been on his mouth to where his hand was on her waist.
"You can't tell me you don't feel it too." His voice came out rough, strained even as his hand went up and down her side. "The excitement in the pit of your stomach whenever we touch."
She shivered at his words, and his other hand slipped past her defenses. This time, the hand went up to cup her chin.
"I already know that you hold feelings for me too."
She shook her head, but his hand that was on her back slid down, causing her to let out a soft exhale.
Her cheeks reddened as his hand explored below. "That's enough." She commanded, but without her physically reaching down and stopping his hands, it seemed like the prince had no intentions of letting her off easy.
"Don't be shy." He said. "You can touch me too."
"You're an idiot." Not knowing what else to say, she settled on insulting him. He laughed it off as if the Beast General was being cute.
He stopped cupping her chin to grab her hand. He brought it up to his lips to kiss it.
"I'm your idiot."
"You're not mine. I haven't claimed you yet."
His eyes curved up into small half moons, delighted for some reason.
"Yet." He repeated, and Kiera was left speechless as he intertwined their fingers and kissed the back of her hand once more.
"I guess that means it's only a matter of time before I become your Mate."
She rolled her eyes at him.
"You don't even know the process for that."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it has something to do with what happens between a woman and a man. It is called Mating after all." He laughed at her expression, dipping his head to once more kiss her hand.
"It will never happen between us."
"Why? Do you have another man in mind?"
"And if I do?"
"Don't make me jealous Kiera. My human heart couldn't take it if I saw you with another man."
"You're being ridiculous. You will easily find someone else to become infatuated with."
"Never before. I haven't found any woman other than you that makes my heart beat like so. It has to be you. No one else but you."
His tender gaze was too much for her, and his sugary sweet words drew her in like a bee to honey. He wasn't smiling anymore. No hint of playfulness showed on his soft pink lips. There was only the sound of their heavy breathing as they stared at each other. His other hand had stopped rubbing her thigh. Now it rested comfortably on her hip.
"Kiss me, Kiera."
She leaned her face forward, as if she only knew to follow instructions, and stopped until there was only a hair's width of space between them.
"Just one kiss." She said aloud without meaning to.
"Just one." He responded to her.
Then she closed the distance between them fully, bringing her lips to his.