Prologue…

            Africa, there the ancient battles of nature play themselves out. Many animals are born and hunted by their destined predators. The weak and old die as the strong and the bold live on. It’s the way life goes in the harsh reality of this continent, especially if you were a wild animal, such as a lion. They must search for food and take chances in order to feed themselves.

            It was a blazing hot mid-day in the Masai Mara of Kenya, no cloud in sight.  The sun showed no mercy on the tall landscape. The air was thick and hot with no sense of shade. Vultures hung high in the bare sky in hopes of a kill. Herds of zebra and wildebeest graze in the tall yellow graze unaware of the dangers that lurk. They are oblivious on what was going to happen.

            Sasha Sow a proud young lioness at the age of twelve was on her first hunt with her pride. In her lion form, she was smaller and more slender than the older lionesses but she could still help with the chase. Sasha was very eager to go one her first hunt with her mother and the rest of the Sow family. She made sure she paid attention to every lesson that her mother taught her. Adabelle, her mother, was a very skilled hunter as she learned from her years of experience. Adabelle thought it was time to teach her eldest daughter how to fend for herself.

            So Sasha crouched low in the tall grass, with her round ears low and tail still. She quietly inched her way towards the herd for wildebeest that her hunting party had been keeping an eye on. She appeared invisible to her prey as her golden fur blended well with the yellow grass as if she were a camouflaging snake. The rest of the hunting party that consisted of her aunts and female cousins fanned out around the herd unseen. Adabelle, the leader of the party stuck close to her eldest daughter. Sasha then lied on her stomach keeping her head low to the dirt, waiting for her mother’s signal.

            Her mother was a head of Sasha and a lot closer to the herd in position for the right moment to strike. Sasha blinked, focused and ready as she would flick her around ears from the noisy flies that would bite at them. Sasha’s father Issa was the king of the pride and proud ruler of his territory. The large lion chose not to join in the hunt as his dark mane would give away the lioness’s cover and lose their chances on a meal. Her father was useful on much bigger kill such as hippo and giraffe. He thought he should sit on the hill in the background and wait until the kill was made to demand his share of the meal.

            Without warning, Adabelle darted out in the open after a weak wildebeest. The entire heard when on a stampede to escape the charging lion. Her speed increased closing the gap between her and the limping animal. She was like a torpedo in the ocean with her speed. Sasha immediately went after her mother to help her bring down the animal. Her mother extended her razor sharp claws as she lunged at the hide of the animal. She clung on to its back for life, not daring to let go. Sasha lunged on top of the animal as well along with the help with the rest of the hunting party. The wildebeest let out a dying cry as the pride brought it down as it tried to fight the hungry lionesses. The wildebeest made a heavy fall as Adabelle clamped her strong jaws on its throat, closing its windpipe. The animal continued to cry and kick, the experienced lionesses made sure to stay out the way of its sharp hooves.

            Adabelle silenced the animal quickly as its body went stiff. It was finally dead. In the reflection of the wildebeest’s eye, the lionesses began to feast on the animal’s hot flesh, tearing it with their teeth as if it were pieces of tissue. Blood sprayed on their faces as they filled their bellies without any feeling of regret. The rest of the herd could only watch as their comrade was being devoured. It was the harsh reality of the wild; the weak will be hunted and eaten. Issa came rushing in roaring demanding his share of the kill. The pride members gave him room to feed on the flesh. He would swat his large paw at the greedy members to keep them in line and snarl to give them a warning. Sasha’s younger sisters who were still cubs had to wait their turn to eat; the youngest cubs were always at the back of the line.

            Sasha managed to break one of the wildebeest’s legs to drag it to her waiting siblings. They meowed happily at their older sibling and ate happily. Adanne was three years older than her baby sister Nya. As a cub the pride had to learn to shape shift from human to animal form, accepting the animal they were proudly. As a cub Sasha had to learn to eat raw flesh as she weaned off her mother’s milk. The Sow pride lived in a village near by in Kenya and would travel for miles in search of potential prey. The Sow pride was among the lion shape shifters that are a lot stronger than normal lions. They were bigger and roared louder than ever. They are able to use the same abilities that lions would use in the wild; night vision six times better than a human, keen senses, muscle strength, the ability to go without water for ten days and much more. King Issa had a vast territory that was his that he patrolled regularly to keep an eye out for rival lions. He would roar proudly to keep invaders away and let them know they were not welcome.

            What was left of the wildebeest was only dry bones that their rough tongues liked cleaned, not even a scrap of meat left for the vultures or the hyenas. Sasha licked her paws cleaned a well as her bloody mouth.

“You did a splendid job Sasha.” Purred her father, as he nudged his head against hers in affection, rewarding her for her hard work. “I can tell you will be a perfect hunter.”

“Thank you father.” She purred. Issa was indeed proud of his eldest daughter.

Then the atmosphere got dangerously eerie. An unknown roar was heard from a distance. Issa stiffed and look over the horizon. He snarled as he stood up. Sasha and the rest of the pride looked at two invading young males coming in, disrespectfully. The two males had another pride of lionesses behind them, to many to count. They roared as they threated to come closer to take Issa’s land and to kill his bloodline. Issa roar back coming close snarling demanding respect in hopes they would back down and surrender. But the two rival males were too confident. Sasha knew she had to protect her younger sisters so she stood in front of them in protection as her father ran straight in for battle. He had no choice but to fight and defend his family and his land.

            Issa roared as he soon became over powered by the two younger shape shifting males as they tackled him to the ground, biting and slashing him with their claws. The two families clashed together to battle for what was rightfully theirs. Adabelle went straight for the rival males along with her sisters to back him up to lower his risks from being killed on sight.

‘Protect your sisters.’ Adabelle communicated to Sasha telepathically. ‘I’ll be there to help you soon.’ Sasha nodded and acted fast. She grabbed little Nya by the scuff of her neck to carry her and ran off to find a hiding place for them. ‘Follow me Adanne and don’t look back.’ She told her younger sister.

‘What about mother and father?’ she asked.

‘They will be fine, I promise you.’ Sasha reassured Adanne.

Sasha led Adanne to the nearest bushes for cover. She knew how important it was to her family to keep her father’s bloodline alive. She hid both of the cubs in the bushes and told them to stay hidden and don’t make a sound. When Sasha turned around she had no idea that she was being followed by three rival lionesses. She stepped forward bravely to face them and snarled warning them to stay away. The three roared and snarled back not taking her warning. They three females then charged at her at once, leaving her no choice to fight them on her own. The four battling lionesses bit, scratched and smacked at each other tirelessly. Sasha tried her best to keep them off her back as she was bleeding from her deep wounds. Of course the older female shape shifters were stronger than her and heavier. Sasha wasn’t sure how she was going to win this unfair fight and protect her hidden sisters. Sasha was growing weak and tired losing large amounts of energy and blood that she needed. Sasha heavily panted as the three females circled her with eerily blood thirsty grins on their faces.

“You think you could defeat us little cub? This will be our land now and your family is no longer welcome.” One female mocked.

“Your father’s bloodline must be erased!” another female snarled.

“I’m not going anywhere..” Sasha spoke. “I’m can’t give up.” 

Without warning, the three lionesses launched an attack on Sasha again. Sasha swung her claws at them as much as she could. But the lionesses at her pinned down as they mauled her. Sasha could only remember her mother rushing to her rescue as her little sisters watched in horror, unsure what to do.

‘Mother…is this the end for us?’ Sasha rapidly lost her vision and black out only to hear the roars of her angry mother.