Life of a Nomad

Chapter 17 - Challenging a lion?

---Christina’s POV---

Leo had no clue. He really had no clue how to be a proper king. Hell, he barely had enough knowledge of his pride to boast about. But what he did know, he presented loud and proudly.

A bit too proudly if you asked me.

Currently he was boasting about the enormity of his pride but both Collin and me weren’t really impressed. Okay, size was impressive but that would only make it more difficult for him.

Such a large pride also created a vast amount of needs and demands to fulfill. They had one of the strongest feline shifts that existed but that came at a price; they had to practice and study to contain their inner beast and learn to live with the instincts of a very powerful predator.

Collin’s presence was comforting, to say the least. But the tension between the guys was slowly putting me on edge. I knew it wasn’t aimed at me directly but being used in Leo’s complot to have one up on Collin?

I was about ready to use my claws on something…or someone if they didn’t stop bragging on and on. Seriously, I am not a violent woman but Leo managed to pull the worst out of everyone!

“So, how many members does your pride count?” Leo asked, brushing a hand through his hair as he glanced at Collin. The leopard grunted as I rolled my eye when my mentor responded, “We’re Nomads…that means no pride, remember?”

“Off course I remember, I was just messing with you.” Leo rushed to patch up his little mistake before grinning. “No pride huh? What happens if you’re in a pickle? You’ll have no-one else to rely on. Its quite dangerous if you ever want to settle down with a mate.”

I saw the flash in Collin’s eyes and the barely withheld snarl, though his lips and nose twitched slightly in annoyance and disgust. My own cat was bristling inside at the hidden jab as well.

“What does he know of Nomadic life? We can take care of ourselves without breaking a sweat. We wouldn’t endanger our mate, we’d be an asset!” She hissed in annoyance, pacing back and forth.

Even Leo’s friends, introduced to us as Bayne, Martin and Corvo, the guys he hung out with daily, were shaking their heads with an apologetic glance our way. They too were getting quite fed up with their friend and former King.

“Maybe King Leander needs to sent his son out into the world? You know, being a Nomad, learning the different traditions and ways from the prides themselves. He’s too cocky for his own good and if he ever becomes a king, he’ll be stepping on several toes before being challenged by the end of the week.”

Eva purred softly at my suggestion before agreeing. “But will the king understand this and will be able to do so? He seems like a reasonable and understanding man but these are his sons we’re speaking about. Princes, the royal bloodline of his kingdom.”

I could see where she was coming from. Normally, the firstborn child of the current king inherited the throne, unless the people denied him or her that spot. Even if the King ruled his pride, it was the pride itself that held the power to chose whether they wanted to bow down to the king or not.