Roar

by Natavia

  “Can we just go home?” Riya begged.

  “Do y’all understand how much y’all are fuckin’ up my job? My cousin will kill me if he knew I let some field mice come in here and kill one of our animals. There is deer meat all around us and you decided to come here? To the Saber Estates? You’re asking to be slaughtered,” he vented.

  “We can repay you. Let us take the cow and I’ll clean your house for a week,” I replied.

  “Naw, Puss in Boots,” he replied. He walked past us and kneeled next to the cow. The stranger took off his necklace and snapped the charm in half. He poured a substance on the cow’s neck from the broken charm and waited. Seconds later, the cow’s neck began to heal but it left a scar where we bit her.

  “My mother always makes me nice things,” he said, clamping the charm back together.

  “You brought her back to life?” I asked.

  “No, I healed her. She wasn’t dead, she was dying. Now, I would like to get back to my blunt and piece of ass. Can y’all get the fuck off this property? And hurry up before I shift again. You have ten seconds,” he said. Riya was staring at his dick and he was definitely larger than a lion.

  What kind of cat is he? Riya thought.

  Who cares, let’s just hurry the hell home! I thought.

  We shifted back into our animal form and hopped over the fence. We ran from the estate, never looking back.

  “WAIT!” Riya called out.

  “What is it?” I asked, out of breath.

  “Where is Toyi? We killed her right here,” she panted.

  “No, we didn’t,” I replied.

  “I’m most certain we killed her right here. I remember that big oak tree, and look, there is the puddle of blood,” she said. Riya was right, Toyi was lying in the spot I was standing in but I didn’t see a blood trail.

  “She couldn’t have crawled,” I replied.

  Riya sniffed the air, checking for another animal’s scent.

  “We are in the woods, I’m sure there are other scents floating around in the air. Toyi is dead so whatever it is must’ve picked her up,” I replied.

  “What if it was that guy back at the farm?” she said.

  “Maybe so, now let’s hurry home,” I replied.

  The house was quiet when we walked inside. The blood was gone and the lemon-scented cleaner permeated the area. The pride members were still fixing the walls.

  “What happened?” Riya asked.

  “Koja and Jinsi got into a fight,” someone said.

  “Where is Jinsi?” Riya asked.

  “Lupe took him to the shed to burn him,” they replied. Riya screamed at the top of her lungs and fell to the floor. A pride member grabbed her and they all surrounded her. I went upstairs and down the hall to peek inside Koja’s room. He was sitting in a chair with his back turned towards the door, smoking a cigar.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Toyi ran away,” I replied. He stood up from the chair and walked towards me.

  “My wife is gone and she has to breastfeed our cubs,” he roared.

  “She said she couldn’t do it anymore. She attacked Toyi before she ran off. I’m sorry but there was nothing we could do. Toyi is a fast climber, she disappeared in the trees and we lost sight of her,” I said.

  “First, Sy’noba and now Toyi? I don’t believe it. Something is going on with you and I’m gonna figure it out. Toyi loved her cubs too much to neglect them. They are still newborns!” he yelled, frightening me.

  “I will go to the store tomorrow and find milk for them,” I said. Koja’s eyes watered but he wouldn’t dare let me see him cry. He walked over to the window and pressed his forehead against the glass.

  “I should’ve treated her right. Out of everyone in my life, Toyi understood me. She didn’t question me and she was a good lover. Go find her,” he said.

  “WHAT?” I asked. He turned around and snarled at me.

  “I said go find her and bring my mate back to me. Fuck, Sy’noba, she’s the cause of all of this. I blame her for my brother’s death but I will not let Toyi get away. Do you understand?” he asked.

  “I’m not finding her. You want her here then you get her!” I yelled at him. He jumped on me and knocked me down on the floor. His teeth sharpened and his nails scratched at my flesh.

  “I’ll kill you, Asha. I have nothing to lose at this point! Do you fuckin’ hear me?” he roared.

  “Go ahead and kill me. Who else is going to raise our cubs? I’m the one who keeps this pride in line while you sit in your room and fuck Toyi all day! You need me before I ever need you. You can’t make love to me the way you used to when you were younger. I’m not the only unhappy one here and if I could give myself to another male, I would,” I replied and he let go of me. I sat up and backed away into a corner.

  “You want someone else?” he asked with a hint of jealously.

  “You don’t make me happy anymore, Koja. You changed me,” I replied. His eyes softened and a tear escaped his eye. He sat across from me and stared at me.

  “I don’t know any other way than this,” he said.

  “Why can’t it just be us? We are not home anymore. We can live in this house by ourselves. All we need is each other,” I replied. He crawled over to me and pulled me into him. He wrapped his strong arms around my waist and pulled me up. Koja carried me to his bed and laid me on my back. He pulled down his pajama pants before he spread my legs. My fingers ran through his locs when he pinned my legs back. Koja inhaled the scent of my female as he nuzzled his nose between the slit of my lips. It had been a while since he placed his nose between my legs. I gasped and clutched the sheets when his skillful tongue penetrated me.

  “OHHHH,” I moaned.

  I closed my eyes and slowly rocked my hips against his tongue. His palms slid underneath me and lifted me up. With my legs around his neck, he picked me up and placed me against the wall. He aggressively spread my legs wider and fucked my pussy with his tongue until I exploded in his mouth.

  “OHHHH, BABYYYYY!” I groaned.

  Koja pulled my clit into his mouth and sucked on it. The pressure was too intense, my cat roared. My nipples were hard and dying for his full lips to wrap around them. He palmed my breasts and pulled at my nipples.

  “I need you inside me,” I panted.

  He lowered me and licked my lips. His tongue slid into my mouth and I hungrily latched on. With my legs over the crook of his arms, my pussy was spread, waiting for him to enter. Koja rubbed my tight slit with the tip of his mushroom-sized head. He purred against my breasts as he gently sank his teeth into my nipple. We both gasped when he pressed himself into me. His width stretched and filled me. His slow strokes turned deep and painful, but still gave me great pleasure. My pussy creamed like milk as he fucked me against the wall. His palms were planted firmly against the wall, his nails leaving scratch marks. Koja’s testicles slapped against my inner-thighs and a sharp pain shot across my lower abdomen. The pain was from him hitting against a forbidden spot only he knew. I bit his shoulder as I came and it dripped on the floor. Koja licked and sucked on my neck. He slammed against my spot again and my legs tingled. A hoarse cry came from my throat as I experienced another orgasm. My legs lazily draped over his arms while he took his frustrations out on my pussy. He snatched me off the wall and tossed me on the bed face-forward. He entered me from behind and pressed my face down into the mattress. My nails shredded the sheets and pillows. Feathers blew across the room and the headboard banged against the wall, causing it to crack. Koja squeezed all of his girth in me taking my breath away.

  “FUCK ME BACK!” he yelled, but I couldn’t. He was overpowering me; his heavy and tall body was pressing me into the mattress. Koja grunted and moaned as he swelled inside me. Seconds later, his semen spilled into me. He pulled out and laid next to me. I kissed his chest and he rubbed his fingers through my hair.

  “It’s just you and me now,” Koja said.

  That was the plan—to get rid of Sy’noba a
nd Toyi so I could have Koja to myself again. I laid on his chest listening to Riya screaming and crying in the back of the house for Jinsi. It was all worth having Koja in the palm of my hands because deep down, he needed me. For the first time in a long time, I slept peacefully with my mate.

  Lynx

  Meanwhile…

  “W hat in the fuck!” Quanir yelled out when I dragged a battered female into the Saber Estate.

  “We gotta help her,” I screamed.

  “Help her? What is up with you and Eze bringing home strays?” he asked.

  “Eze never brought home a stray,” I replied.

  “I’m looking at it,” he spat.

  Quanir picked up the wounded stranger and carried her upstairs and down the hall to one of the spare bedrooms. He laid her naked bloody body on the bed. I went into the closet of the guest bedroom and found a robe to put on because I was naked.

  “Get me some towels and warm water,” Quanir said, then left the bedroom. I ran into the bathroom and grabbed all the towels on the rack. Underneath the sink was a pitcher and I filled it up with warm water. Quanir came back into the room with a genie-style bottle.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “Something my mother made for me. Some of us have a gift to heal and some of us have to make remedies to heal faster,” he replied. While Quanir was saving the stranger, I thought back to what happened a few hours earlier…

  I was sitting far up in the trees watching the lion’s pride house. Eze told me to stay away from their house but it was hard to do. They were interesting to watch and they reminded me of worker ants. The king’s mates were always arguing and the king was constantly looking for Sy’noba. I wondered where she went. The last time I saw her, she was in the library at Saber Estates. She disappeared and I hadn’t heard from her since. There was a hole in the wall inside the library and I wondered where it led and if Sy’noba fell down the hole. If she did, it was good riddance. But I had to make sure if my suspicions of her disappearance were true, so I watched her house to see if she would return home. Within three days, Sy’noba’s pride was suffering. At that moment, I knew she was very important to them. When three female lions left the house, I followed behind them. One lion was up in the trees while the other two ran through the woods. Careful not to be noticed, I climbed further up the trees and followed them for almost an hour. The two female lions stopped walking and the one in the tree jumped and landed in front of them. Suddenly, the two female lions attacked the other one. I wanted to intervene but they would’ve killed me, too. After they ran off, I waited a few minutes before I jumped out of the tree. The gash in her neck was deep but she was still breathing.

  “Help me,” she whispered.

  I can’t, I thought.

  “Please, help me,” she repeated.

  I turned my back on her and began walking away but then I stopped. If Eze would’ve never found me, I would’ve been dead. I was her only hope.

  Climb on my back, I thought.

  “My leg is broken and so is my arm. I cannot move,” she whispered as her eyes fluttered. I shifted into my human form and helped her on my back. After I had her secured, I shifted back into my cat form and ran through the woods; the opposite side where the two female lions ran to. The closest place to go was the Saber Estates…

  The female lion roared when Quanir poured green liquid on her wounds. The sizzling sound of her skin healing caused my stomach to turn. It reminded me of frying bacon.

  “Her leg and arm I can’t fix. This remedy only heals wounds. We have to wait for Eze to return for that,” Quanir said. He took the water and towels from me and cleaned her off. I was surprised at how nurturing he was being. Quanir was an egotistical jerk, but with the stranger, he was passionate. He wiped the blood off her face and his eyes glowed. I’ve watched her from the trees but this was my first time seeing her up close. She was breathtakingly beautiful and she also looked young. In human years, she could pass for twenty-four or younger.

  “I need my cubs,” she panted.

  “Cubs?” Quanir asked.

  “Yes, they need to be fed. I gotta get home,” she replied.

  “Umm, let me holla at you in the hallway,” Quanir said. We walked out of the bedroom and he closed the door behind us.

  “Who did you bring here?” he asked.

  “An abandoned female,” I replied.

  “Tell me what the fuck is up with your crazy ass! You know what’s going on with her and I got a feeling you know where she came from, too,” he said.

  “Okay, fine. She’s Sy’noba’s pride sister and her mate is the king of the pride,” I replied.

  “You just as dumb as me, you know that? What’s gonna happen when the pride realizes she’s here? Wait a minute! She was probably one of them who tried to eat our cow,” he said.

  “I have a feeling you’re talking about two female lions. If so, they left her in the woods before they came here. Did you attack them?” I asked.

  “I’m not attacking a female unless it’s life or death. It’s not a Saber thing to do,” he gritted.

  “Listen, we need to find Sy’noba because they are going to come here looking for her anyway. Sy’noba can take her back home whenever she pops up,” I replied.

  “Sy’noba isn’t coming back any time soon. She had family business to take care of,” he said. We heard a loud thump follow by a painful cry. Quanir opened the door and the female was lying on the floor. Quanir picked her up and took her to the bathroom.

  “Go in my room and grab a T-shirt and baller shorts for her,” Quanir said. When I went into Quanir’s room, a woman was just getting out of the shower. Although she was in good shape, she looked old enough to be his mother. I saw the ring on her finger, an indication that she was married. Quanir was too immature to date an older woman.

  I wonder if she’s paying for sex, I thought.

  “Where is Quanir?” she asked with a towel wrapped around her.

  “He’s talking to his…sister. Our family just came over so he wants you to stay in the room. You’re married, right?” I asked.

  “That is between me and Quanir. And it’s two o’clock in the morning. You have visitors this late?” she asked.

  Nosey old bitch! I thought.

  “Yes, we do. Now will you excuse me,” I replied.

  Quanir had clothes sprawled everywhere in his closet. Eze was neat and Quanir was messy—they were complete opposites. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and ran out of the room and down the hall to the guest room. When I walked into the guest room bathroom, the female lion was sitting in the tub and Quanir was washing her hair.

  “You have a human in your room,” I said.

  “Your point?” he replied.

  “She’s old enough to be your mother and she’s married,” I said.

  “She’s only forty, plus, who cares if she’s married. Her husband is my ex-boss,” he said.

  “You’re an idiot,” I replied.

  “And you’re mateless. Sit the stuff on the sink and go color something. Where your college friends at? Don’t y’all have a meth party to go to?” he asked and I flipped him the finger.

  “What’s your name?” I asked the female lion.

  “Toyi,” Quanir answered.

  “I didn’t ask you,” I replied.

  “Can someone help me with getting my cubs?” she asked.

  “Sorry but we cannot do that. Are they in danger?” I replied.

  “Their father wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them. I’m just too attached to my babies. They might starve,” she said.

  “They can survive off regular milk for the time being. I sympathize with you but it’s only two of us against your whole pride. You are badly injured so you can’t go with us to get them. It’s best we wait until Eze comes home. He can heal your broken limbs and you can return home,” I replied.

  “The smartest shit you have said since I’ve met you,” Quanir chuckled.

  “Are you two related?�
� Toyi asked.

  “His cousin is my mate,” I replied.

  “Sy’noba is his mate,” Quanir said and I wanted to snatch his eyes out.

  “Why are you embarrassing me?” I asked.

  “Why are you lying when she’s gonna find out the truth anyway?” he asked.

  “You two know Sy’noba?” Toyi asked.

  “Yeah, we do. My cousin is dating her,” Quanir replied.

  “Ohhhh, I see. I knew she was seeing someone because she was always blushing. He must’ve made a big impact on her because she’s complicated to deal with,” Toyi replied.