A Lioness's Pride

{4} Breeding Partner

Sitting across from four male lions who had been trying to kill my little sister a few hours ago made me incredibly nervous. I was in a hyper-alert state and ready to bolt at the slightest twitch of aggression. At some point they dressed in shorts; from where I have no idea. None of them had on shirts and I found myself eyeing the forms of each.

Mikah clearing his throat had me nearly jumping out of my skin.

"So, Zaire, I know you are extreme lost and on edge, but I assure you that no harm will come to you or your cub from now on."

I raised a questioning eyebrow but said nothing.

"I know you don't trust us but let me explain." Again, I raised an eyebrow in question. "I'll take that as a go on." When I again did not answer, he sighed. "Well for starters my name is Mikah. To my left here is Simeon, who you've met before. To his left is Bakari, who you have also met before. At the far end over there is the youngest, Aaden."

Sade entered the room at that time. She nervously glanced over to the males as she scurried to me before jumping in my lap and curling up. Every male eye in the room was on her and she tried to hide in my arms. She quieted her movements when I began stroking behind her ears.

"What is your cub's name?" Mikah asked. I narrowed my eyes and stayed silent. "I promise we are not going to harm you or her. I just want to know more about you."

Thinking it over, it wouldn't much matter if I told them information about us or ot. If they wanted us dead there wasn't much I could do about it at this point. I was cornered in my own den.

"Her name is Sade, and she is not my cub. She is my cousin, my only surviving cousin," I stated emphasizing the last bit. It was their fault that it was just us left out of my pride. Twelve of my pride members, family members, slaughtered; children and all. I could be as bitter about this as I wanted.

A look of confusion came over Mikah's face. "Wait, she's not your cub?"

I squinted my eyes at him. Did I not just say she was my cousin? "No, she is not my cub. I have not had cubs yet."

A sly smirk came across Bakari's face. I could almost hear his thoughts from here. Heat rose to my cheeks.
"I don't mean to sound insensitive, but why save a cub at all or this cub in specific? It is not in our nature to do so–"

"I did it because she is family. She is one of the only cubs my aunt was able to successfully raise long enough to introduce to the pride. She asked me to save at least one for her. I would have saved more of the cubs if I could have but that was not possible now was it?"

Mikah hesitated like he was going to ask something else but faltered. Instead Simeon spoke up. "That doesn't really explain why you fled. Most lionesses fight to the end or submit. You did neither."

"I don't much like being ruled by some narcissistic male with a thing for dominating others by pushing his weight around, much less four of them. Just because I am a female does not mean I should have to submit the the rule of a male. I have done just as much for the pride as any male. I would rather live in the ways of the humans the be subjugated by anyone. Does that answer your question?" Mikah shifted awkwardly on the armrest of the couch.

A grin danced at the sides of Simeon's mouth before he turned to Bakari, "Oh, I hope your cubs come out as stubborn as her."

A wave of embarrassment hit me hard as Bakari's dark eyes intensified and an almost knowing smirk teased one corner of his mouth. I quickly cleared my throat and look to Mikah. "You said you would explain," I drawled out.

"Ah, yes. We are looking to keep you as our eldest brother's mate. Now before you gripe me out, let me finish explaining," I continued listening with narrowed eyes. "With the way our line works, we sire cubs stronger and more likely to make it to adulthood when the strongest of us has only one breeding partner."

Are they serious?

I looked down to Sade who had her head turned in question. This was not a conversation she needed to be in here for. Without any further hesitation I stood with her in my arms and exited the room.

"Zaire," Bakari hissed in warning. I flashed my eyes at him before continuing into the other room. I could hear light whispers coming from the male, but couldn't quite decipher them. It was probably best that way.

"Love, I am going to need you to stay in here for a bit while the rest of us finish up our little talk. It shouldn't take long. Okay?" she gave her little eyes a roll before plopping down in her bed. "Hey... if anything goes sour, you know where to go and what to do." Sade put her head down and turned away from me. "I'm sorry kiddo. Just remember that I love you and you will always come first, before anything else, alright."

A long sigh left my lips as she refused to even acknowledge me.

I ran a hand through my long honey hair while trying to prepare myself for whatever came next. When I entered the room, all eyes shifted to me. Bakari had conveniently moved to exactly where Sade and I had been sitting minutes before. His arm was casually draped across the back of the loveseat, legs spread wide, and an irritating smirk covering his handsome face.

Really?

The others had spread out across the room, making it nearly impossible to sit anywhere other than the floor if not with Bakari. The floor option seemed rather tempting at this point. Maybe sitting between Simeon and Aaden would be better.

No. With my luck it would just cause more posturing. All the testosterone in the room was already too much without me egging them on. Damn it all.

I slowly made my way over to Bakari and took a seat as far away as possible. Of course it wasn't more than an arm's length away, but I get points for effort. He was not pleased with the small distance between us. The arm that had been on the back of the loveseat soon grappled me around the midsection and pulled me into his side. I found myself skin to skin with his chiseled chest.

He was hard but smooth and hot, in temperature of course.

I cleared my throat and looked to Mikah in the armchair to my right. "Please continue what you were saying earlier."

"Well as I was saying, we need this breeding partner to be especially strong herself and willing to lay everything on the line for the cubs she births. The stronger the female the better chance the cubs have." My cheeks burned red hot as he continued to explain. Bakari's left hand began to glide up and down my bare thigh as his right pulled me closer to his side. "After your little displays these last few days, we all came to the same conclusion..."

A strong whiff of male spice hit my nose as Bakari leaned in to scent me. I pulled away as I ran a hand through my hair. Big mistake. I was swept onto the lap of the large dominant male beside me.

"You are mine now, Zaire," he growled into my ear. Shivers racked my body as he nipped my ear. I was having trouble breathing in more than a pant.

"Do I not get a choice in the matter?" I rasped.

A chuckle rang out from across the room. My hazy brain tried to find the source of the sound. Simeon and Aaden were standing in the doorway to the kitchen. When did that happen? And why? "It is pretty clear what choice your body has made for you, Ness," Simeon laughed.

"It is not our way for a male to initiate a mating," I chided, trying to shake off the feelings flowing through me. Damn this hormonal response.

Bakari scoffed and nipped my neck at that. "Do you not remember starting this the other night, little lioness?" My brows scrunched up in confusion. "When you were protecting that cub. Started rubbing yourself all over me and began to sub–"

"I DID NOT SUBMIT TO YOU," I roared in embarrassed anger.

Bakari did not like that one bit. I soon found myself belly up across his lap, throat bared and arms pulled tight behind my back. As I began to struggle, I felt two sharp fangs at my throat. Worse than that, I felt something hard poking into my bottom.