The night grew darker. The meat was cooked. ensured to leave it at a medium rare so the beast people would have the splendour of tasting blood as well as a five stars steak.

By now, she was surrounded by children and a few adults who could not hide their curiosity. They all had the same look on their faces. Hunger and intrigue but no one came close to enough to her for her to give them a bite.

Mira fanned the flames of one of the anchors till it quenched. Now all that was left was the burning of the already burnt wood till all the smoke dispersed out.

"Focus on cutting the meat, love, I will handle the fire." Jia Hao said to Mira. He did not want her inhaling smoke.

Mira nodded and walked to her stool. A new set of nicely rinsed leaves were flatly pressed on the ground where the meat laid. She had no wooden bowls at her disposal, she forgot to get some out and she was not too sure if the cheetahs used the same dishes their ruler did.

Guess she would be serving them in leaves tonight. Mira cut out smaller pieces from the medium sized meat chunks onto smaller leaves the wrapped it. She let out an exhale, she felt spent. She barely had time to recover after last night before diving into something and her body told her she needed it.

Mira cut out another portion finely and placed it on a leaf. This was for Ming Tao. She had told him to sit far away from her yet close by within sight distance till she was done cooking and now she was. She wanted him to be the first to eat it.

Mira made her way to Ming Tao. The nearby cheetahs watched and some exchanged chatter. Mira courtesied before him.

"You do not have to." Ming Tao said to her. "I consider you my equal, darling." He added.

Mira grinned. She knew. But not while they were outside with countless others watching, she wanted to give him that kingly respect.

"I am but your loyal subject, mighty ruler." Mira responded in a throaty purr. Ming Tao could not help but smile. He tried to control his lips from grinning too hard.

"Come to me." He said coolly even though his heart was doing a constant back flip. Mira walked in front of him. She used her hand to pick up a nicely cut piece and took a bite. She chewed and swallowed. This was her way of telling the other cheetahs that it was safe to eat. She held her hand to Ming Tao and he opened his mouth to let her feed him.

His pupils dilated at the flavour tainting his tongue. Such richness and texture was rare to find anywhere. Ming Tao chewed and parted his mouth open again. "I want more." He said.

Mira fed him another piece. Then another. Until the leaf in her hand was empty.

The other cheetahs were smacking their lips together, it was obvious they wanted a taste of this new meat that smelt so divine but they all seemed too prideful to ask.

"May I invite the others to join in the feast, mighty ruler?" Mira asked politely. Deep down, Ming Tao wanted everything for himself but he did not want to be stingy.

"You may." He said begrudgingly. He leaned closer to Mira and lowered his tone. "Keep more aside for me, please. It tastes just as good as the one who cooked it."

Mira almost bursted out laughing. She did not know if she should take this food comparison as a compliment or not. She could swear she tasted sweeter. In bed, of course, not as food.

Now that she thought about it, she was lucky these beast people had not considered roasting her yet. She never felt happier to not be able to shift than now because what if they saw a fox and pretended not to know it was a beast person and proceeded to hunt and cook her. This made her shudder. Now was not the time to have such thoughts.

"Please, everyone, join in. There is plenty to go around." Mira called.

The adults looked like they wanted to dive on the chance before it was taken away. One of them coughed and stepped forward. It was Yu Xuan. She held her chin up and closed her eyes. "The adults should taste first before the children. We need to know it is safe for them to consume."

Fat lie! Mira saw right through that. The woman just wanted to have enough to fill her belly.

"Sure." Mira agreed. She walked to the place the meat was displayed and cut out some pieces then put it on a leaf. She stood then walked to Yu Xuan. "If you wanted it, you could have just asked instead of being cunning." Mira worded in a low tone to her.

Yu Xuan took the leaf. It smelled so good she began to salivate. She took a pompous bite. This was when her composure left immediately. Her eyes widened like her senses was exposed to a magical thing and she dived into the meal till it was gone.

The other cheetahs watched. They checked the reaction of people to the food before deciding for themselves. More people stepped forward.

"This has to be the best thing to exist. Why have we never done this before?!" Yu Xuan blurted. It was after she realised who she was speaking to. She immediately cleared her throat and regained her composure. "You have outdone yourself, demon. I would like some more."

Mira rolled her eyes. "More coming your way." Mira said. "But on one condition."

"Ask!" Yu Xuan blurted. She immediately realised how desperate she sounded then cleared her throat. This was all the meat’s fault. Why did it have to taste so good? It was like witchcraft! "I mean, what is it? I will think about it first before I do it."

Mira knew it would be a piece of cake winning this woman over. "Tell the other people to join in. They will listen to a council leader." Mira said. She wanted to get at Yu Xuan to send her seductive spy out of her way but that would be a request for another day. Yu Xuan pretended to consider the request even though she already made up her mind before Mira stated the condition.

"Everyone, please, bring your young and old to join in this flavour. To our hard work!" Yu Xuan called.

"Thank you." Mira said. These people were no different than the lion clan after all, it would only be a matter of time.

"I would prefer my thanks with meat."