When my siblings and I were born in my mother's litter, my Father thought that I was of no use.

Being a Lioness in a pride, the cub of the Alpha Lion, I was pushed aside to my mother and learned how to fight, feed and patrol instead - I didn't mind, my father was an arsehole as it was.

I battled alongside my kin, learning the best way to stalk deer, zebras, even wildebeests. I learned how to keep the Pride out of harms way from hunters and other Prides territories. I learned the hard way.

Over time, I showed my father the respect I deserved. I showed him just how sharp a Lioness's claws were compared to his own flimsy old set. My father eventually showed me the respect I had rightfully earned - and my brothers showed the same.

My eldest brother, Jonah, was my twin. It then went me, my other two brothers Garth and Oliver, and my little sister Savannah. Jonah took over the Pride after my father died, and I worked alongside him. I monitored the patrols, the attacks, and how much food went around.

Jonah took his sweet merry time mating all the females besides myself and Savannah (we're Lion-shifters, but not complete animals), and soon had his own litter of cubs following his every move.
His lionesses, the ones he mated, they were close friends of mine and were happy to still let me run things - I had been doing it since my father shunned me.

But it was when that repulsive mutt came into the Pride's territory did Jonah have to step up and fight for once, instead of me.

In our Lion world, things are different. To human standards, if someone entered the suburb, they would be welcomed and taken in, taught our ways, and even taken up the ranks to the head of the town.

Our world? Very different.

If an Alpha Male, without a pride, walks into a Pride's territory and challenges their Alpha to a fight, if they win, they become the Alpha Lion of the Pride.

It was a fight to the death that no one else could interfere with.

I was patrolling with Hayley and Darcy, brimming Jonah's territory, when I caught his scent. Primitive Alpha Male. It wasn't Garth, Oliver, or Jonah, or any of the other males in our Pride - this was fresh. This was new.

"He's a lone lion." Darcy snarled, and Hayley twitched her tail back and forth. My ears were flat as I looked to where the scent led.

"He's a challenger." I hissed, and looked to the two girls. Darcy was one of Jonah's lovers, but not blessed with a litter yet. She writhed on her paws, a roar rumbling in her throat. Hayley loved Jonah, but he hadn't pursued her yet - she still had hope.

Without another glance at my two Lionesses, knowing they would follow, we sprinted after the challenger's scent. He was in a hurry, running towards the Pride's centre. We ran through the fields, the edges of the grass tickling my ears, and I felt the dread sink into my stomach.

A challenger meant that Jonah's life was on the line.

I pushed myself further, and realised that the challenger was already at the Pride's centre. He was with Jonah. 

"No..." I lowly-roared, pushing my energy into getting myself, Hayley and Darcy there faster.
Darcy and Hayley were both running alongside me, motivated for completely different reasons to me. I was running for my brother. They were running for their mate, and their love.

When I spotted the collection of acacia trees, and the nearby group of rocks, my heart surged. We were approaching home, our Pride, but when I heard the roars of a lion fight, and the wails of my fellow Lionesses in pain, as well as the scent of furious males standing by, I knew I had been too late.

Hayley, Darcy and I skidded to a halt as the grass parted, taking in the scene. Jonah was on the ground, legs out from under him, and covered in enough bite marks to mistake him as prey. His dark gold eyes locked with mine as I entered the clearing;

And the light died when the challenger made the final blow.

My brothers roared, my Lionesses wailed, but I remained silent as Jonah's eyes stared at mine, never wavering.

The Challenger released Jonah's neck, dropping his body with a careless thud. My heart was tearing, but I stared at the challenger with fury.

His dark gold coat was barely covered in blood, but his night-sharp claws were coated in my brother's. The mane glimmered in the setting sun, with strands of coarse brown and gold hair. Stretching to his full height, my ego boosted when I realised he wasn't much taller than my Lion form. His head swivelled, and crystalline jade eyes met mine. He was a strong and powerful for a lion - a worthy Alpha.

But Jonah was dead - and his blood was still on his muzzle.

I let out a low rumble, letting the new Alpha know my  opinion - despite what the others were doing. Hesitantly, they lowered their bodies into submission. The lionesses who were mated with Jonah were teary-eyed, mourning their dead-lover. My brothers, Garth and Oliver, lowered their heads with a bristled snarl, and the other males did the same. Behind me, Hayley and Darcy bowed their heads to the challenger.

He shook out his luxurious mane as the rest of the Pride bowed, but stared me down as he waited for my obedience.

Fat chance of that. Respect was earned, not given because they did one thing. I fought for my father's respect for twenty years before he even acknowledge my existence. In the 3 years since, I built up my reputation as a determined fighter and protector of our Pride.

I raised my head at the challenger, my whiskers twitching as I drew my lips back to a snarl. The challenger unhinged his jaws and let out a huge roar, my fur ruffling at the pure power it showed. The other Pride members flinched at the volume, knowing that the challenger was signalling to the neighbouring prides that there was a new Alpha here. A lion's roar could be heard for miles - this was his call.

As his roar peaked, I roared back. It wasn't as powerful as his, no way, but my disobedience came across. I wouldn't bow down to this challenger when he just slaughtered my brother for power - he had to earn my respect before I would kneel.

I cut off my roar abruptly as Garth tackled me. I leaped back over, biting his neck, grabbing a small tuft of his light gold mane. Oliver snarled at me as I made Garth submit - he knew who was the better fighter. Garth roared, his paws attempting to hit mine to knock me over, but I pounced on his fallen frame. Garth snorted in submission and I let go of his neck and glared at my younger brother. 

"Oliver?!" I yelled, my tail twitching back and forth in fury. "What are you doing?!"

"You know the rules!" He roared back, nodding towards the challenger. "He killed Jonah, he leads us now!"

"That doesn't mean I'm going to bend over - he needs to earn his respect!" I roared back, and glared ferociously at the challenger. His crystal green eyes hadn't looked away from my spectacle with Garth.

"Who are you to be killing our Pride Alpha?" I snarled, getting off Garth and lowering my body towards him, ready to pounce.

The challenger cocked his head, mane shifting, and had the audacity to chuckle. "I'm your new Alpha - that's all you should be focusing on."

I let out a low snarl, and looked to Oliver and Garth again. "I should kill him now."

"You're just a Lioness, you cannot challenge me." The cocky lion smirked, raising his large head well above my height. Just one leap...I could rip out his throat...just one leap.

"Lara..." Garth whispered, and I whipped my head around to face my younger brother. His small mane was barely poking me through but his eyes were sorrowful. "Don't do it - you were working alongside Jonah, you know this Pride better than him," He sent a hateful glare towards the challenger. "But we need you Lara."

"Lara?" The challenger asked, the look in his eyes changing to curiousity. "Jonah's sister?"

I raised my head with a defiant glare. "Yes. I worked alongside him with his Pride, our Pride, and you better think twice if you think I'm going to bow down easily."

Taking a few steps closer, I glared him down. "Earn my respect. Earn my trust. Earn the Pride's trust, and I will bow then. In the meantime...

"Don't fuck with me."