by Natavia
“I’m going to make you pay for what you did to my mother,” he said. He hit me in the face with a heavy club and knocked me out cold…
*********
My eyes fluttered open and blood dripped down my face. I looked around and noticed I was inside of a cave with animal bones. My legs and arms were still numb.
“I guess you have more than one weakness. Poison will make the strongest warrior crumble like old bark,” Naji said. He kneeled next to me and poured water over my face.
“Coward!” I yelled. He grabbed my arm and bit it, ripping my flesh apart.
“Poison will stop you from healing,” he said and bit my other arm. I wanted to cry from the excruciating pain but I held my tears in.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked and I didn’t answer. He slapped me in the face and I tasted blood in my mouth.
“Karu, your mate in the past life, was my ancestor and I will live out his legacy,” he replied. He sat me up and leaned me against the wall. He slid his hand between my legs and two of his fingers entered me.
“You’re dilating to carry cubs, and when you’re ready, I will enter your body,” he said and I laughed.
“You fool! I won’t be able to carry cubs with poison in my blood so do me a favor and keep on with it,” I replied.
“You will pay for what you did to my family over the years. Everything is so fucked up in our pride because of you and the love you have for that Neanderthal. Eze won’t want anything to do with you after I get finished with you,” he said. Ten lion shifters walked into the cave, one of them had Safari tied up and her face was bruised with bite marks covering her body. One of the shifters dropped her on the ground and her head hit a rock.
“We will be back,” Naji said and left the cave with his pride members trailing behind him.
“I followed your scent after I realized you were gone. They rushed me as soon as they saw me. I failed you, Sy’noba. It’s time for me to join my father,” she said.
“NOOOOOOOOOO!” I roared when she closed her eyes.
“Please, Safari. Please don’t do this!” I yelled out to her. My arms and legs were tingling from the numbness and my body was ready to go into shock. The poison Naji gave me was nothing like scorpion poison. My tongue and neck began to swell and my vision was going in and out. Drool mixed with blood dripped on my chest and that’s when I realized I was bleeding internally. My body fell over next to Safari’s and she was still breathing. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Eze
D ead warriors were sprawled out in front of Y’kiki’s temple when we reached the forest. The sabers surrounded me, waiting for me to give another order.
Go to the lion’s village. It’s miles away from here on the other side of the garden behind the temple. I will follow Sy’noba’s scent, I thought. The forest trembled as the sabers ran to the lion’s village. The eyes of the lion statue on the temple beamed through the trees. It was leading me to Sy’noba. I followed the bright emerald beam. It was sending me deeper into the forest towards the opposite side of Tiban. When I approached a cave, something sharp flew at my neck but a gold shield protected me from it. Up in the trees, two warriors with red and white paint covering their faces shot poisonous darts at me. My animal stood on its hind legs to push the tree over. The warriors fell on the ground and I ripped them to shreds. Four lions came out of the caves, three males and one female. They ran towards me and I collided into them. We rolled around in the bloody mud biting and clawing each other. My tusks sliced through their flesh, killing them instantly. More lions came from behind the trees and surrounded me. Naji dragged Sy’noba’s lifeless body out of the cave by her hair.
“One move from you and I’ll cut her head off like you did my father. She’s heavily poisoned so she’ll die instantly. No goddess healing for her,” he laughed. I shifted into my human form and the lions circled me.
“Get on your knees and beg for her,” Naji said.
Looking at Sy’noba’s naked bloody body made me fall to my knees.
“Do you see how worthless you are now? This bitch here will always be the death of you but you still love her. I tasted her and she tastes amazing but I don’t know if it’s worth suicide,” he said.
“Would you just shut the fuck up and tell me what you want,” I replied.
“I got what I want. You have two choices: watch me and the rest of my pride brothers fuck her or snap her head off and watch the vultures peck at her. Which one can you stomach?” he asked. He laid her on the ground and climbed on top of her. I was surrounded by twelve lions but I made my decision. When I charged towards Sy’noba, the lions attacked me. My body covered hers and while they bit and clawed at me, I was sucking the poison out of her.
“MAKE HIM BLEED!” Naji yelled. He knew if I lost a lot of blood, I’d be weak. The majority of my wounds were healing on their own but the spear that slammed into my face made it hard for me to give Sy’noba energy. She wiggled underneath me and her eyes opened.
Come on, baby, I thought. My wounds began healing slowly, causing me to bleed out. Naji threw another spear and it went through my side. Spears began flying from the trees above, slamming into my body until I fell over. Sy’noba stood up and guarded my body. She roared as her body transformed. A gold lion’s crown framed her head and her legs and arms grew. She was almost seven feet tall. The lions shifted into their human form and bowed to her after realizing she possessed the gift from her goddess. Naji threw a spear at her.
“We don’t believe in you!” he yelled.
The medallion on my neck shocked me; it was healing my wounds. I snatched the spear out of my face and my skin mended back together. Naji told his lions to attack us.
“They killed your king and my mother. Y’kiki would never kill her own! She’s an imposter and her strength is from voodoo,” Naji shouted. I charged into him and slammed him against a tree. My fist went into his rib cage and he fell onto the ground holding his stomach. I picked him up by the throat and squeezed.
“You wanted to rape my mate?” I asked and sent my fist into his face. He wrapped his arms and legs around me and bit my shoulder. A sabertooth stepped from behind a tree and it was my father. Naji’s pride immediately began attacking my father. A few more sabertooths came from behind the trees and charged into the lions. Naji got away from me with all of the commotion and I chased him into the jungle. He shifted and I shifted into my saber. I pounced on him and we rolled into a tree. My paw crushed his throat before my teeth sliced his throat in half. He shifted into human form and grabbed his throat to stop it from bleeding. I shifted and snatched his canines out of his mouth.
“A trophy from killing your bitch-ass,” I said.
“Fuck you,” he choked. My heavy foot stomped on his neck and his head popped off. I picked up his head by the locs and took it back with me. When I got back to the brawl, there were more lions than sabers. The sabers must’ve chased the lions out of their village and into the forest. Sy’noba glided through the crowd with her daggers, slicing the lions’ necks. A female lion jumped on her back and she choked-slammed the lion into a tree. Sy’noba drilled a spear in the lioness’s neck, leaving her dangling from the tree.
“ENOUGH!” I roared and dropped Naji’s head by my feet. One of Naji’s aunts shifted into her human form and screamed when she saw his head.
“MURDERERS!” a female lioness screamed and Riu scratched her face.
“No more bloodshed from this moment on! As the king above all kings on this land, I demand every single lion pride leave immediately. If you can’t comply, you will be slaughtered because, starting today, you all are enemies,” I said.
“You can’t do that!” a lion shifter yelled out.
“Muthafucka, it’s written in the pamphlet!” I replied.
“Do something, Sy’noba! You’re supposed to protect us,” a pregnant lioness said.
“Sy’noba is a protector of cats, I am a protector of this land. We made an oath in our past life and it
was broken. Lions went against the oath, so you’re no longer welcomed,” I said.
“We can’t live with humans!” someone said.
“You should’ve thought about that before y’all decided to start this shit!” I yelled. Safari limped through the crowd and stood in front of me.
“I think it will be a peaceful land without them. They slaughtered warriors I’ve known all my life,” she said.
“Some of the females and cubs should stay. The law is for those who broke the oath,” Sy’noba’s sultry voice echoed through the forest.
“The males will get older and become a problem,” I replied.
“I will teach them the correct way of pride life. As much as I love you, I can’t let you do that to them. They will get raped and forced into prides. Their cubs will also be killed. You will be a father soon, Eze. You wouldn’t want your cubs to get killed,” she said and the sabers looked at me.
“Anyone affiliated with Karu’s bloodline will have to leave. That’s the best I can do,” I said. Sy’noba walked over to me, shrinking down to her normal size. I picked her up and squeezed her.
“I’m sorry,” I said and rubbed her back.
“Let’s forget about it,” she replied.
“I see you’re in touch with your gift now,” I said.
“It came out of nowhere. I gotta learn how to bring it out more often,” she said. Safari walked over to us and Sy’noba hugged her.
“You saved my life,” Safari said to Sy’noba.
“You would’ve done the same for me,” Sy’noba replied.
My father walked over to me and patted my shoulder.
“You did good, son. We are not heartless and thinking about the innocent ones was a good thing to do. Remember, bless others and your ancestors shall bless you.”
“Hey, Mr. Alexander,” Safari waved.
“Good evening, Safari. With all due respect, you have grown into a beautiful feline,” my father said.
“Pops, we are in the middle of a grave. Bodies are everywhere and we’re covered in blood. Pussy shouldn’t be on your mind,” I said and Sy’noba nudged me.
“I don’t mean it like that. Pussy as in pussycat, a female,” I said.
There was a big commotion coming from the crowd. A male lion was parting ways with his cubs and mate. His daughter held onto his leg as he promised her he would see her again. A saber pulled him away from his daughter and forced him in the line for the ones who were going back. He broke down and cried and I couldn’t be that person. All I wanted to do was get rid of the bad ones.
“What’s your name?” I asked the young male.
“Eerie,” he sniffled.
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Eighteen,” he said.
“And you have cubs?” I replied.
“Those are my siblings and she’s my mother. My father is lying over there,” he pointed.
“I’m not like him. He tried to make me fight with them but I couldn’t,” he said. I knew he was telling the truth. I could see it in his eyes.
“Step out of line, Eerie, and go with your family,” I said. He tried to hug me to thank me but I stepped away from him.
“No hard feelings, bruh. I just can’t hug another male while my dick is hanging,” I said. He chuckled.
“I’ll do anything to make up for what my father did,” he said.
“Just look out for your family. That’s good enough. Just don’t go after my mate wanting her to be a pride sister and wife when you get your man testicles,” I replied and he ran over to them. I went down the line and there were more males who were genuine but had been put in a bad position. After I was finished, the sabers escorted them to the portal.
“After it rains in the forest—”
“The sun will shine brighter and the flowers will blossom,” I said to Sy’noba.
“You remember that, huh?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do. You used to say it every time something bad happened,” I replied.
“We can finally be happy. The lions and sabers,” she said.
“This time around will be epic,” I replied and she kissed my lips.
“Come on, let’s go to Camden,” I replied, picking her up.
“I can walk,” she said as I stepped over a mangled lion.
“As tall as you got a few moments ago, you should be carrying me. Let me see what you got down there,” I said, looking between her legs. Sy’noba roared in laughter and I kissed her chin.
“What will you do if I transform into that form again while we make love?” she asked.
“Pull out, it’s a beautiful form, baby, but there’s a time and place for everything and that ain’t the time. Your feet were big as shit and your hands looked like they shot three-pointers on the court,” I replied and she playfully bit me.
“When you shielded my body, I felt how scared you were of losing me. That alone breathed air into my lungs,” she said and I smirked.
“I love you, too,” I replied.
“I didn’t say all of that,” she joked.
“Yeah, aight,” I chuckled.
“Can you hurry up and get us to Camden?” Sy’noba asked, growing impatient.
“What’s the rush? We’re enjoying nature,” I replied.
“I’m completely aroused and I mean in another way. I’m ready to mate,” she said.
“Right now? This soon?” I asked.
“Apparently so,” she replied.
I placed her on my back and shifted into my saber. She held onto my neck as my animal soared through the jungle. The sun was brighter than ever before.
My spirit is finally resting, Sy’noba thought.
Yes, I can feel the calmness of the forest, too, I thought.
Asha
L upe and I moved to a tiny cabin by a swamp. He said it was only temporary until we found something better. Lupe wasn’t as aggressive as Koja but they had similar personalities. The cubs were playing outside in the small yard while I butchered a deer. With us being a small pride, food wasn’t hard to find. We lived in an area with a lot of deer and other mammals like groundhogs, raccoons and foxes. Lupe came into the kitchen and sat at the old wooden table.
“You’re looking good today,” he said.
“Thank you,” I replied.
“I will treat you better than he did,” he said.
“I hope so,” I said.
“Do you think Sy’noba will come back to look for you?” he asked.
“No, she won’t. I let her down too many times and, besides, things are better this way,” I said.
He walked over to me and lifted my dress. Koja was the only male I had been with so the feeling of another male touching me seemed surreal.
“I wanted you first. When I saw you in the savannas, I told Koja about you. I should’ve kept it to myself, but because he couldn’t be outdone, he came to you himself,” he said, feeling my bottom.
“What will happen if I never fall in love with you?” I asked.
“This isn’t about love. I don’t care if you never love me but your body belongs to me now,” he said. While looking out of the window watching the cubs play, Lupe entered me. He roughly grabbed my hair as he slammed into me. The smell of sex and the sounds of his skin slapping against mine echoed throughout the cabin. I closed my eyes and bit my lip because sex had never felt so good.
“Lupeeeeee,” I moaned.
“Koja couldn’t make you feel like this, could he?” Lupe asked and licked my ear. My nails hooked on the table and my essence dripped down my inner-thighs. Lupe pressed my face against the table and went deeper. My legs trembled and tiny whimpers escaped my lips from climaxing. Lupe roared when he exploded inside of me. The door opened and Lupe hurriedly fixed himself. Mekah stood in the doorway, staring at us with glowing eyes.
“He’s not my father!” Mekah yelled.
“Watch your mouth!” Lupe replied.
“He’s the king of this pride now, Mekah. Koja is dead and he’s not coming ba
ck,” I said to my oldest cub.
“I hate all of you!” he said and ran out of the house. I was ready to go after him but Lupe stopped me.
“Let him cool off. He will be back,” Lupe said. He grabbed a piece of meat off the table and walked out of the kitchen. I went outside and called out for Ji-Ji and Syra to come in and eat. They ran into the house and headed for the kitchen. I stood in the doorway of the cabin looking into the woods, hoping Mekah would come home but I had a feeling he wasn’t going to. He didn’t want Lupe being our king.