Chapter 2: Young Lioness

I stand near the edge of the pride borderline. Looking beyond the invisible line, marked off only by the scents of pride members and landmarks to help remember when the edges end. The terrain visible to my eye has been used repeatedly over time. Only adult males and training females were allowed past the border. That's only with the permission of the Alpha of the Lycans who owned almost the whole Perućica forest. It's a law to make sure that no one in the pride gets hurt.

Lions do not normally live in the middle of the forest. We live in savannas, grassland and open spaces where prey is abundant. Normal pride of lions would be safe there but us? No. We’re shifters. We need to hide our secrets otherwise humans full of curiosity will set their eyes on us. And we cannot afford that. 

I see a deer a few yards up ahead across the borderline. I blink and wonder why it would be this close to civilization and not deeper in the woods. It's quiet but nowhere close to calm. The wind is blowing my scent directly to the deer. As soon as it hits him, he runs. I'm not too sure if it's a male or female deer, the males have started shedding their antlers for the year.

Any prey that came from the deeper part of the forest belongs to Him. We should be cautious if we want to stay here.

"What are you doing over here, Zehra?" A voice takes me out of my trance, and a large body now stands in front of me with its arms crossed. I look up and shrug my shoulders. 

It's Mikail, my oldest brother and the next in line of the King.

He's a warrior and is usually patrolling the borders when he's not away for pride business. He has been acting as the king when Dad fell into illness. He’s still young to do King business and he would have been easily killed by nomads. That’s why he’s heavily protected by the Queens and some male Lions. They do this to protect the newly born cubs. 

"I just wanted to look at what's out there. I've been everywhere in the pride and I'm just a little curious."

It was more like an obsession than anything to cross the border and see what's out there. I can only imagine.

"Curiosity kills the cat, ya know," Ren said. “Nomads roam around looking for a vulnerable Queen to be.

Yeah, just like what happened last night. I could have been raped if it wasn’t for that bipedal foot with black fur. 

I roll my eyes at the old saying but nod my head anyway.

"You shouldn't be this close to the border, Zehra. As strong as our pride is, a nomad could still sneak his way through the borders. I don't want you getting hurt." He says softly, he presses a hand on my shoulder and begins to walk me away from the border. "Mom would hang me for that." He jokes. I give him a little laugh.

I guess he's right. Nomads are still a threat to the pride, and the pride doesn't have superpowers to keep them out. They can only try their best too. He makes a great point.

In pride, a king is equal to the Alpha in a werewolf's pack. And the Queens are the Luna. The only difference is that queens do not stay in a pride house. They hunt, they fight. We do not have a mate. We knew our partner by scent. 

I on the other hand am the first-born female cub and when I reach eighteen, it is time for me to leave the pride and build my own pride. 

You see, Kings do not create pride. It is the females actually. I should have left the day I turned eighteen but Dad kept me for a reason he and mother only knew. Whatever the reason was, I’ll find it soon. 

I pause and turn back to look at the woods. It's quiet, and I feel as if something is coming. 

"What's wrong?" Mikhail asks, looking back at the woods.

"Nothing, sorry. I just got this sudden feeling that there’s something in the woods. It might just be the fact I'm still interested in them." I mumble. 

The feeling fades away as we keep walking. I don't think much about it, because it doesn't concern me.

"Go home, Zehra. Mom is cooking lasagna for dinner, and she's probably worried about you,” he said. 

I nod my head and he starts back towards the borders. My mom is a worry wart. She's always afraid that something bad is going to happen to me. I head towards the direction of my the pridehouse.

When I get home, my mother greets me as I walk into the house. Her hair falls down to her shoulders. Her stomach is swollen and she's going to pop any time soon. It's a little strange knowing that my mom is going to be having a baby and I'm eighteen but I'm happy for her. 

A mother Queen should give birth to as many cubs as she could. Pride is stronger in numbers, especially females cubs. They are future warriors and hunters of pride. 

"Do you need any help?" I offer. I've taken a medical course in high school and learned a few things about pregnant women. They're not only carrying their own weight but the baby's too. That puts some pressure on your feet.

"Can you put the pan in the oven?" She asks. I nod my head and do what she says. If it's not obvious that a belly is in the way of bending over, than I don't know what is.

I take in a deep breath and catch a smell so delicious it makes this lasagna seem like nothing. 

"What's that smell?" I asked mom, wondering if she had bought some new febreeze or perfume. 

Mom furrows her eyebrows. 

"The lasagna?" Confusion laces her words but she lets out a laugh as if she were joking.

"No," I smile and roll my eyes at my mother.

I breathe in again. It's not as strong now, but it lingers in my senses. It's something that I can't really get enough of. 

"What's it smell like?" Mom questions. I take a deep breath and try to figure out what it smells like.

"I don't really know," I take in a deep breath, "peppermint mostly, but there's other stuff too. I just can't think of what the smells related to." I explain to her. Mom nods her head and chews on her bottom lip.

"I think my nose is stuffy from the cooler weather." Mom says. 

“Maybe because you’re pregnant, Mom,” I said. 

I check on the food and turn back to my mother. She's now sitting at the barstool sipping on a glass of water. Even while she's pregnant she still moves faster than I can say peanut butter. Mom let's out a exaggerated breath and runs her fingers through her hair.

"Looks like it's just you and me eating dinner together tonight." Mom mutters. I furrow my eyebrows. 

"Why? Dad and Mikhail won’t come here tonight?” I'm appalled by that. Dad was excited to sit down and dig into whatever mom cooked, sick or not. And Mikhail is as hungry a bastard as ever. 

"We have a visitor and your father and Mikhail are talking with him. He says he doesn't know how long it will take, so to just eat without him." She explains it to me.

I frown. Mom always seemed so much happier and cheerful when dad’s around. I mean, he's around in the morning but because he was sick, Dad always stayed up in his room, resting. He only came out when needed to.

"Can we catch up on the tv show we have been planning to watch, Mom?" I offer, giving mom a cheeky grin. Her expression lifts into a happier one. I smile, turn to the oven when it dings and pull the lasagna out. I guess that there is always a plus side to dad and Mikhail being gone. 

Those male lions are heavy eaters and lasagna is their favorite food.