One Month Later

"Come on, Shanni, one more big push!" Jama encouraged from behind Shanni. She was straining to push out her overdue cub. She groaned loudly and pushed with great effort. Mheetu shuffled his paws each time Shanni raised her head and comforted her with soft words. Siwatu and Ni sat beside their kin and watched with anticipation.

"I can't," Shanni puffed and plopped her head harshly onto her husbands feet. Jama nodded and ran one of her odd paws across Shanni's head and agreed to a few minutes of rest before continuing.

"Is everything alright?" Ni asked, his graying face filled with worry. Jama smiled and nodded again.

"Large cubs are both a blessing and a curse," she explained sitting down on the ground not that far from Shanni.

"Are Tama and Tojo coming?" Shanni panted. Vitani padded over to her sister then, along with Shyra, and sat around her.

"They'll be here soon," Shyra mumbled and gave her golden sister a purr of encouragement.

"The East Lands are far. They'll be here by the time you've pushed out the little ankle biter," Vitani spoke looking at Shanni with a combination of adoration and discomfort. Vitani knew just how painful it was giving birth to large cubs. I cursed myself for being so abnormal but looked at my alert children with love. They were a little large and strange for being five months old but I wouldn't want them any other way.

Adya had adjusted easily since her adoption. She had gained some weight and was almost as round as her twin and litter mates. She was a sweet little thing. It was odd seeing her upset. The only rare moments were when she was in need of some milk.

"Alright. I'll try again now," Shanni whispered getting to her front legs.

"Are you sure?" Jama and Mheetu said at once. Shanni moaned in pain and pushed with force, a low snarl escaped her throat.

"Okay. Shanni, take it easy," Jama attempted only earning a growl from her. A few forceful pushes later, a small golden cub entered the world.

"It's a girl," Jama boasted carefully taking the whispering cub to Shanni to clean. Shanni's eyes watered looking down at her wet daughter. She looked so much like her and her sisters, including Shanni's red tail tuft. The only resemblance she had to her father were the colorless paws and the dark rounded nose. Shanni licked her daughter dry and giggled when the little one sneezed and wobbled over to one of her irritated looking teats.

"She's your daughter alright," Vitani joked looking down at her first niece.

"And your niece," Shanni gasped looking at the being she and her mate created.

"She's beautiful," Mheetu sobbed holding his mate. Shanni rolled her mismatched eyes but cuddled into her mate regardless.

"Congratulations," Ni smiled looking down at his grand-cub. Shanni and Mheetu looked up and him and said their thank you's.

"She's gonna be a paw-ful," I laughed looking at the hungry and desperate way Shanni's daughter was tugging on her mother's teat. Everyone in the den chuckled and awed when the cub hiccuped.

"Let me check if there is anyone else in there," Jama said and carefully checked. Her eyes closed and then opened before she spoke again. "The night is not over yet."

"What?" Shanni asked, her face shocked.

"There's more?" Mheetu gaped looking down at the already dry cub.

"It could be a second set of twins," Jama smiled cheerfully. Shanni's eye twitched, making me stifle a laugh.

"Dear God," Shanni hissed, now pushing again.

"Come on, you can do it," Jama encouraged. Shanni groaned loudly, her jaw open, her eyes tightly shut. "It's almost there!" With more great effort, a second cub was born.

"A boy," Jama squealed holding the cub and then placing him in front of Mheetu and Shanni. He was pale, larger than his sister, with ear patches colorized entirely in brown, the natural spots that cover every newborn's body were slightly darker around his feet, a tiny black tail tuft covered the end of his short tail. I wondered if he would have the same spots as his uncle Kion and his father.

"He looks like you, Siwatu. More or less," Mheetu gushed looking at his son. The cub possessed a dark angular nose like Vitani's. I looked up at my mate and saw her wiggle her dark pink nose, she noticed it too. Shanni didn't have much time to clean her son when her contractions returned.

"There is no way," Shanni groaned, "that there is another one."

"It is common for second litters to be bigger than the first."

"I had twins in my first litter!" Shanni growled digging her claws into the dirt ground underneath her.

"A-another?" Mheetu asked. His face grew pale and his teal eyes rolled to the back of his head. Before he could collapse, Shanni raised her paw and hit his head harshly.

"I swear to every Great King and Queen if you faint!" She seethed. Mheetu shook his head and regained the color in his face, blushing with embarrassment. Nala chuckled beside Simba and her young son Kion tucked neatly at her side. Kiara at that same moment covered her sons' eyes with her paw to avoid them from seeing anything else.

"I see the head," Jama jumped and placed her paw underneath the place the cub would fall, as she did previously, and caught the cub in her paw just in time. "Another girl."

"Let her be the last," Shanni's voice was barely a whisper resting her head. She lifted it softly, eyes watering, when she saw her last cub. She was the spitting image of Sarafina. I gasped looking at her, remembering the late Sarafina and then looked at the three lions she left behind. The little one even possessed the same brown tail tuft as the grandmother she would never grow to meet.

"She-" Mheetu began but stopped when tears spilled from his eyes.

"Well done Shanni. That was the last one," Jama smiled and placed the placenta and afterbirth covered cub in front of her mother and father. She was a runt, for a lack of a better word. It would take her some weeks of feeding to catch up to her siblings. Though with Shanni as her mother it wouldn't take long for that to happen.

"They're gorgeous," I complimented from my resting position.

"We make pretty babies, don't we?" Shanni smiled now calm and admiring her triplets.

"Boys, you can look now," Mheetu called and they quickly peeked from behind their aunt Shyra. They were much bigger now. Their legs longer now for running and their teeth almost all the way grown. They were their mother's sons. The same cream coat covered them entirely, with Mheetu's black tail tuft promising dark manes in the future.

"Mama?" Cecil asked hesitantly crawling over to her.

"Cecil, Aslan, these are your siblings," she explained looking at her sons with as much adoration as the day they were born.

"Name?" Aslan asked cocking his head to the side. Shanni blinked a few times and looked up at Mheetu.

"We've thought of so many," she blushed looking back down at her newborns. "Malene for this little lady," Shanni affirmed licking her first born. The name meant magnificent and it was a fitting name. She was a beautiful cub even just hours old.

"Mwezi," Mheetu said with a knowing smile at his son. He looked up at his father and brother and allowed them to cuddle into him. Moon. It must have been a name they were fond of but it was accurate, Mwezi would be a white lion like his uncle Siwatu.

"Sarafina," Shanni whispered licking her smallest daughter. I noticed the way Mheetu, Ni, and Siwatu's eyes watered and tried their best to hide them. I couldn't help but do the same.

"That's perfect," Mheetu's voice cracked giving his wife's cheek a lick.

"Well, I should go and extend the family tree at home. Goodnight," Jama bid her adieu, grabbed her staff, and made her way out of the den.

"Tell Rafiki he was missed," I said as she walked by me.

"My father has been attending the Nyota Pride in the Kalahari. I will make sure he gets word of what happened tonight."

"We could do it," M.K. suggested fluttering down from my head along with Ayodele.

"Thank you," Jama bowed her head and the three of them exited the den. Just as they were leaving, Tama and Tojo trotted inside, drenched due to the pounding rain.

"Are they here?" Tojo asked eagerly, his electric blue eyes wide with a glowing smile.

"Go and look," I encouraged and stepped to the side for him to get past. Tama raced in front of him and engulfed her eldest daughter in her paws when she saw the new litter to join our family. Tojo did just the same and sniffed at the cubs and gave them licks and purrs of acceptance.

Mheetu's P.O.V

If two years ago you would have told me I would have family, I would probably have called you insane. But here I am, in a den with the lioness of my dreams with five beautiful cubs. My eyes stung with new tears looking down at our newborns.

So innocent, round, perfect. I couldn't stop looking at them and I thank evolution for the night vision. I hummed a sigh looking between Shanni and the cubs in the dark, sleeping from the miracle that was today. I shifted my head from one paw to the other, admiring my family. My family. I chuckled to myself happily.

"Son, are you awake?" My ears twitched at Ni's voice. I lifted my head and looked over at his old figure. His eyes gleaming in the dark.

"What's up?"

"How 'bout we do some late night hunting," he bounced his brows, shimming his shoulders playfully.

"We can't for sport here," I whispered.

"Who said anything about killing?" He said, confusing me. Didn't hunting mean killing? "Come on." He jumped to his feet and nudged Siwatu with his paw in the process. His eyes opened immediately, scarily, and rose to his feet without so much as an explanation. I raised a brow and I looked back at Shanni and the cubs one last time and trotted after them.

"How exactly are we going to hunt without killing anything?" I asked when we were far enough from the den.

"You'll see," Siwatu said plainly and lied on a boulder in the open field we were in.

"Shh," Ni hushed and crouched down, taking a few steps before a booming laugh erupted from his chest and a bundle of lightning bugs fluttered into the air. They flew frantically, clashing into each other like falling stars.

"Mheetu, come on!" He yelled, swiping at the bugs playfully. I lifted myself onto my hind legs and then crashed my front legs onto the ground. Dozens of the bugs joined the rest tickling the tip of my nose and swooshing through my mane. I laughed loudly and chomped into the air trying to catch as many as I could.

"Siwatu you have to try this!" I laughed running in the tall grass and falling on my back in front of my twin. He arched a brow and scoffed. I stood and tapped his snout with my paw.

"Do not do that," he reprimanded. I tapped it twice and shuffled backwards. He snarled and crouched before pouncing. I jumped back quickly and ran from him, cackling. I could have sworn I heard him chuckle behind me.

We ran along the grass until I was gasping for air. Siwatu tapped my hind legs and I was sent tumbling. My stomach ached from the laughter when more and more bugs surfaced from the grass.

Siwatu landed in the space beside me with the first smile I saw ever saw him crack.

"I wish we could have done this when we were a few hundred pounds lighter," he admitted, his paws on his chest. His words caught me off guard but I smiled nonetheless.

"What's the Kalahari like?"

"Hot," Ni chuckled and rested between us, purring. "But beautiful."

"You should come visit us." My heart sank when I put together what Siwatu was saying.

"Y-you're leaving?"

"Not any time soon. But, we have responsibilities back home," he continued sounding distant and dare I say hurt.

"Unless you want to stay," Ni said and my heart pattered quickly, hopefully.

"Father?"

"Lololi will grow into a fine Queen with her consort and ladies in waiting to guide her. What would she want with one old lion and another half blind?"

"I am to be her mate," he retaliated. Ni shifted and I felt him tense.

"She is but a cub. She shouldn't be betrothed to someone who could be her father. What marriage would that be? Not one for my son or for a lioness of her stature. You both deserve to marry for love not for convenience," Ni explained and my love for him grew. I did love him in this month of having them in my life I had grown and learned to love them. I understood why they left, it took time but...they were family.

"I suppose," Siwatu sighed "it would be rather strange to have her as my equal when I am so much older."

"Exactly, my son," he purred again, softer this time, a whisper. "I am so proud of you both." His voice cracked and suddenly his paw was around my neck, pulling me close to his chest. I felt his tongue lightly comb my mane, I couldn't help but purr.

"Those cubs of yours are promising. Dark manes and large females, they'll make fine hunters." He continued, pulling me closer.

"I just want them to be happy," I admitted looking up at his eyes, teal and identical to mine. Mine identical to his, rather.

"Oh, with a Pride as successful as this they'll have happiness coming out of their ears," he laughed, a sound I had grown fond of. "That Cecil is strong for his age and Aslan is a playful little thing. Those boys of Kiara and Kovu are a pawful as well! I can only imagine what their daughter will be like."

"Daughter?" Siwatu and I said at the same time.

"Her stomach is tilted to the left. It's a girl."

"Oh, father that's an old lions tale," Siwatu groaned.

"Pish posh! I know what I'm talking about. When she has that little girl in two days you'll see I was right."

"Two days?" I asked.

"Kiara's belly is close to the ground. She should be having labor pains soon."

"How old are you?" I joked making his wrap both paws on my head and swish my hair tuft playfully.

"Old enough to know she's having a girl and due in two days," he said confidently "I'm always right about these things, you know."

"You thought Lololi was going to be a boy," Siwatu pointed out.

"She's as big as one! I bet you anything she'll be just as large as an adult male when she's matured!" He laughed again and licked my twins nose making him groan and wipe away any drool that lingered.

"Great Kings help the lion she ends up with," Siwatu said.

"Why?" I asked.

"She's a legacy. A lineage of powerful matriarchs. When she learns that, she won't settle for just about anyone. She'll want a King to help and care for her people before caring about her or himself," Siwatu spoke and I instantly imagined a pure white lioness, regal and charming. Mighty.

"And you wanted to marry that?"

"It would be nice to be apart of something so grand. Don't you think? A dying Pride ruled by one of the most intimidating lions in all of Africa? What a benefaction." He swooned which grossed me out because this was a cub we were talking about. But, I knew he didn't mean those things as she is now.

"I guess," I shrugged.

"One day, she will come here and all of the Pride Lands will cower under her gaze. Mark my words," Ni predicted.

"You'll be here to see her rise, father," Siwatu's words assertive. As though it was a demand and not a question. I believed my twin though, Ni was strong for his age.

"Yes, my son," he smiled and then gazed up at the stars. "Your mother must be looking down from those stars, waiting."

"For what?" I asked, looking at the sky searching for a star that stood out to me. To mark as my mothers.

"For me," he sighed.

"How morbid," the three of us lifted our heads and watched my only sister, Nala practically float as she walked through the grass. The fireflies lighting her way, as if knowing she was Queen.

She caressed us and lied with her head touching our fathers. Our father. I almost cried knowing I even had one. One that wanted me in his life just as badly as I wanted him in mine.

"That one," Nala pointed "that's mom. I know it." It was a bright star, twinkling and beautiful.

"Hmm," Ni's chest vibrated with each new purr. "Yes, I can feel it."

"How's my nephew?" Siwatu asked and Nala giggled.

"Sleeping, finally, with his father. That little one is so fussy," she giggled again.

"Do you think Kopa has a star?" Ni asked and my heart skipped a beat. My first nephew, the one I never had the chance of meeting, ate away at my heart. How could anyone murder a child? A cub. An innocent.

"I've looked up at that sky for over two decades and for over two decades they have remained the same. Maybe, children don't get stars. Maybe they get a galaxy to play in, to prosper in." She sniffled. "I wish I could hold him. Just once more and I think I would be whole again. I love Kion and Kiara, but the feeling of losing a child...it's a pain that can't be remedied."

"Hush now," Ni cooed, nuzzling her gently "let's leave the past in the past. Let him rest." Nala nodded and sighed a few times. Then there was silence around us. Siwatu, my brother, asleep as well as our sister.

"Dad," I whispered, hoping he was awake.

"Yes, son?" My stomach flipped.

"Do you think ma would be proud of us?"

"Of course, my son. How could she not be?"

"I was gone for so long, running from so much death only to come back and-."

"But you came back. You held her one last time before she went. If Sarafina were here now, she would have rested her head on your chest and slept all through the night, just listening to your heart beat. I think that was her most favorite sound in the world." My lower lip trembled. "Besides, Sarafina lives within her new grand-daughter. She isn't that far away. She'll be in the eyes of your daughter. She lives in her...and in you, Mheetu. Don't be so hard on yourself. The guilt will eat away at you."

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"Being here. Being my father."

"I wish I could have always been here."

"You're here now," I confirmed and rested my head on his chest. His heart thumping softly.

"Rest, Mheetu. It's been a long day."

"Goodnight, father"

"Goodnight, son."

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I hope you LoveBugs enjoyed this chapter! Short but I think it's powerful. I think this has been my favorite chapter to write so far :)

I was hoping to do a Q&A. If you would like to be a part of that, please be sure to comment down in this chapter's comment section. I will be answering anything having to do with this series! 

Once I have chosen enough questions, I will make a podcast type of upload here, if possible, answering them.

One last thing! I have deleted the "contest chapters" because I have decided not to go through with it. I have since come up with ideas for the sequel and with those ideas came mates for Nafari and Zuri as well as for all the other cubs already born, yet to be born or yet to be introduced into my fanfic. I apologize to the contest winners, but if you would still like to have a character in my book please be sure to inbox me and I will gladly try to squeeze them in :)

The contest was poorly planned out and spontaneous and in the moment. I do apologize again for my compulsiveness in the past.

I really hope you liked this chapter and I hope to see your questions soon!! I will be sure to let you know when the "podcast" questions have been chosen and when it will be uploaded. 

'Till my next post!

Delaney.