the suspicions of a beast

Chaos ensued in the days that followed. Jade and Cody both routinely kept her updated on the rumors going around inside and outside the palace walls while she and Bryan went hunting for any pieces of evidence left over from the attack.

The people believed the Blackcrested Wolf was behind the animalistic attack inside the palace. Kiera was perfectly fine with such rumors. To the Humans, the Blackcrested Wolf was nothing but a wild animal. It shared no relevant ties with the Beast People. That was good enough for her.

With some digging, they were able to find more about the victim, a male servant of the main palace. He was young, about thirty years old. He had no family or even family background. Nevertheless, the palace was wrought with fear of a potential next attack.

Kiera told no one about the investigation except for her three captains. If there truly was a Deranged, then it must have been one of the Beast People. But who could it have been? She watched her battalion like a hawk, but there were no such signs of a Deranged Beast. Kiera told Helios and Gaspar to keep a look out for any signs within their group of warriors.

With each day that passed, Kiera could feel her emotions grip tighter and tighter around her neck. The tension she felt in the palace as she walked through its corridors was insurmountable. At each training, she felt her confidence wean. If she couldn't find any leads within the Beasts, then she would have to start elsewhere.

"General." Kiera watched closely as Cody came to her side. He spoke to her in a hushed tone.

"I found a lead that you might be interested in."

She nodded her head, permitting him to continue.

"It's about the victim."

They chose an ordinary day to follow the lead. Once night fell, Kiera and her three captains wore capes that covered their clothing and headed outside the main palace gates and into the city.

Horseback was the option they chose, as a carriage would only raise questions. They tied their horses at a nearby inn and walked on foot the rest of the way. As they made their way into the city's downtown area, she couldn't help but remember her little outing with the Third Prince.

"Where are we Cody?" She asked her captain, who was leading them through the various roads. They were weaving through alleyways and they finally found themselves in a quiet part of the downtown. Kiera was on high alert, training her ears to detect any kind of noise, big or small.

"This is where the tavern I told you about is. The victim liked to frequent here after working at the palace."

She eyed the wooden signpost in front of the tavern. It was probably too soon for most of the bar's usual clientele to enter.

"Cody, you're with me. Bryan, wait outside with Jade. Keep hidden, but stay within a block from the tavern. You know the call sign if there's any trouble or if you see anything out of the ordinary."

"Understood." Bryan nodded. Both he and Jade set off to blend with the other people milling out and about in the night. Kiera turned back and gave Cody a curt nod. Then they entered the tavern together.

As Kiera's black boots stepped onto the wooden floorboards, she was hit by all the different smells. She smelled the smoke in the air before she heard the sound of a person coughing. There were few people inside, sitting at the tables scattered throughout the room. All the patrons of the tavern were in their own little worlds, not bothering to pay attention to the two of them that had just entered.

Kiera motioned for Cody to close the door behind them and he did before they walked deeper into the tavern.

Kiera approached the bar, her eyes followed the moments of the man standing behind cleaning a glass. She stopped in front of the person. Without even so much as looking at her, he grumbled to her.

"Go away. There's no work for you here."

It seemed like the man had mistaken her for a person that was out job hunting.

"I'm not here for a job." She said, irritated the man wasn't looking at her while she spoke. Her exasperation ebbed into her voice. "I'm looking for a man."

The man snorted, finally looking at her but with much disdain. "Of course you are." The amount of sarcasm in his voice chipped away at her rationality. She slammed her fist down onto the bar, her words weren't getting through to the man and he wasn't making any sense to her at all.

Behind her, she could hear a low growl emanating from her Captain's throat. Kiera could sense Cody was tensing up, most likely sensing her increasing agitation towards the tavern's owner. He was getting ready to strike once she gave the command.

Kiera breathed out, trying to calm herself down. Causing a bigger scene here wouldn't be wise and would only end up hindering their investigation. She soothed down her inner Beast, her Wolf would just have to put up with this kind of treatment. Only long enough for her to get information.

"Listen," she began slowly, "if I could have but a moment of your time. The man I am-"

"This wench! I told you there's no such work for you here, now begone. I don't want you to be dirtying my business with any of your kind!"

Kiera felt all of her remaining patience run out. She lunged forward, grabbing the front of the owner's shirt and pulling him across the bar with a simple tug so that he could see the intensity of her eyes. The man was so taken aback by her action that his eyes widened, bringing up his hands defensively.

"I am not a woman to be trifled with." She gritted out. "Am I understood?"

"G-guards! S-someone call the guards!" He sniveled out, trying to pry her fingers from the front of his shirt with all his might. He couldn't comprehend why she was so much stronger than him.

She heard the sound of approaching footsteps from behind her and her nose caught the whiff of a familiar scent.

"Excuse me." The new man said as he reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. "Is the man you were looking for perhaps me?"

The man had so much power over her that she immediately felt all the stiffness leave her body.

Kiera let go of the man in front of her begrudgingly. The tavern owner scrambled back as soon as he was let go and started choking up air. She sent him a withering glare before turning around to face the man that had approached her from behind.

Just as she had guessed, the hooded man was the smiling Third Prince. She could see a bit of his golden hair beneath his drab colored hood. Perhaps he thought she wouldn't be able to recognize him if he didn't reveal some of his face.

"How about we go someplace else?" His easygoing smile looked different to her for some reason. She was put off by the stark difference in his appearance from the last time she had seen him. Then she remembered the rising feeling she felt that night and she looked away from him.

Kiera jutted her chin in Cody's direction, signaling for him to follow as she headed outside the tavern.

"Leave and never come back!" She heard the owner yell behind them as they left the tavern.

"Want me to go back and rough him up for you General?" Cody asked her quietly from behind his hand. Her eyes cut to him and she thought about it before shaking her head.

"Quite a coincidence running into you here." The prince's voice drew her attention back to the blond haired man. He watched the two of them in a relaxed manner, standing a couple of paces away from them to give them space.

"What are you doing here?" She warily asked him. "I would think someone as grand as you would visit better taverns than this." A look of confusion flashed through his eyes before he responded.

"I'm sure you can guess the reason as to why I am here." Although she was terse with him, he answered her with a resplendent smile.

"We should find somewhere else to talk." His eyes shifted around, scanning the area around them. "Follow me."

She nodded to the prince and then whistled out two short notes, confident both Bryan and Jade would have heard her from wherever they were.

"Lead the way."