Kenneth's POV
'The nerve of this girl! Who does she think she is to even imply that I've been weak? Me, a royal lion? A lion is a sign of strength on its own, let alone a royal one for her to suggest that a relationship could weaken me. She is crazy.'
I was boiling from inside. This was the time when I wish I was home free to let loose and run into the woods and work out my anger and hunt. 'How dare this girl knowing very well I'm a Royal lion, still insinuated I was weak'?
As werelions, we shifted at the age of 18 and we graduate at the age of 21 when most of us would get their destined mates, though some got them a bit earlier or later. It used to be easy to get mated in the past but now with modern world, it has increasingly become not so easy that some lions wait for their destined mates up until they are 27 or even 29 because prides hardly interacted for fear of territories being invaded. Many end up taking chosen mates and some do choose humans.
Though a council of elderly lions called a senate was eventually formed, which ruled with all the Leo's (royal rulers of all the prides in a region, which I'll be in a few years), it was still difficult to bring werelions together because we are naturally territorial. Werelions are a bit different from real lions but still very much territorial.
In a pride Kingdom, a set up is as such that each region has a Leo (ruler or more like a Royal Alpha in werewolf set up), who rules along with his Royal Regina(more like the royal Luna). In each region there are more smaller prides led by Rexes together with their Reginas. A Rex is more like the Alpha but all of them in the werelion region are ruled by the Leo who is either royalty by blood or through a challenge.
In each pride, A Leo or Rex has two most entrusted second and third in command called Duobus and Tribus respectively. These are usually childhood friends and they also gain those positions by birth or by challenge. They are advisors and bodyguards to the Leo or Rex.
A Regina is capable of leading when a Rex passes on. She is also entitled to enforcers who are mostly males and more like her bodyguards. They are known as first and second enforcers. A Leonis is a challenger to the Leo or Rex position. Some Leonis are by birth while most of them are just random challengers.
A challenge has to be done legally and without the use of any weapons which would be considered cheating. A challenger has to be ruthless to prove themselves capable of leading. A challenge has to be approved and directed by the Senate.
Each pride has a Malum who carries out duties of an executioner for their leader, a magician who helps the Pride stay neutral( some refer to themselves as witches or prophets), an Amor is a female who teaches newly mated werelionnesses not to shift during sex and the Libidinem is the male version.
The Marshalls are responsible for the physical well-being of the Pride and can sense if someone is physically hurt. They often work with the hunters whose duty is to hunt down rogues and guard the territories.
Omegas are responsible for the emotional well-being of the Pride. They take care of everyone and report any emotionally unstable person. Just like the Marshalls, they have high senses. As werelions we are very organized and highly respect those in authority.
I had never been so worked up since I came to the University last year. Yes I had a year in this school before my angel came. That is why I stood for elections and won, because I was already popular.
My engineering degree takes four full years whereas most degrees take 3 years to finish like hers. Honestly, I'm happy about it because it means we get to finish at the same time.
I wished that my girl could be around to calm me down but I was afraid that she would find out my real identity and leave me.
I couldn't bear it. I can't imagine life without her. From the very moment I saw her, there was this unexplainable attraction I felt and still feel for her.
Knowing she is human did not deter me from loving her as deeply as I do, but what still weighs me down is the fact that I haven't opened up to her.
I'm already very much afraid of what she will think of me or whether she will ever want anything to do with me when she finds out I'm a lion in human form.
That's why I can't have that self entitled girl come and mess things up for me before Lucy heard from me. I have a plan but I need time to execute it.
At this rate, if this so called friend of hers continues with this 'mate bond pull' bullshit talk, I'm afraid my truth might end up getting revealed to my angel prematurely and that wouldn't end well. I swear I would crash this so called princess.
I had moved from the office to my dormitory but I was afraid that my angel might come looking for me and find me in this emotional state and I would be forced to explain to her prematurely or end up lying to her which I hate doing.
I mind linked Thomas and Malcom telling them that I was going to take a walk in the woods behind the school walls.
It used to be a forestry project where many trees were planted along a stretch of land measuring a few kilometers, but it was later abandoned. I don't know for what reason.
It's a perfect place I could even shift and run a bit on. Zeus has been nagging me to be let loose. He can be a headache sometimes. The idea is nice but this place is crawling with human beings and we may risk being exposed.
My friends can be persuasive sometimes, I didn't want company, I just wanted to take strolls alone, but I had to wait for them because they told me they are coming along.
"Yoh! Ken! We are here, let's go." Thomas the hot headed one said.
He has always been quick to make decisions even when we were little. Many of which put us in trouble many a times.
Malcom is the level headed one, who always quenches the fire in me(of course lit by Tom). I laughed at the irony. Tom is the petrol to my fire whereas Mal is the water to my fire.
They have been my friends since birth. One fuels my fury while the other quells that fury. A perfect combination indeed. The goddess pairs us Weres for a reason.
We started walking out of the school premises and Thomas asked me what happened with that bitch of a princess. My blood boils once again at the mention of her name.
I think I hate her. "I hate her Tom, who does she think she is to suggest that she is my mate and that it is because I've fallen for a weak human that's why I couldn't even feel the mate pull?
How dare she speaks ill of Lucy? Mannn, if only she knew I feel so much drawn to Lucy a gazillion times more than I would ever to her. She is playing with fire." I told them feeling that bile of anger rise again.
"Oh man, I can't believe that's what she wanted to talk to you about, the nerve she got to irk a Royal lion in that way, princess or not. She should know better than anyone not to offend a lion let alone a Royal one." Thomas reiterated making me fume even more.
"Calm down Ken, and you Tom stop adding fuel to the fire." Malcolm said snapping at Tom who snarled back.
"Ken, she isn't worth your anger. What if she just has a crush on you and just wants to get you worked up like she already is, just to mess things between you and Lucy? Are you going to give in to her prodding?" Mal asked with a serious face.
He was making sense though but I was still so pissed off. "Man I wish I could let Zeus loose and run out this anger which is choking me up" I said as matter of fact.
Tom was already done removing his clothes before I could finish. Yeah, that's Tom for you, very impulsive and spontaneous I must say. Mal tried talking us out of it but my clothes were already off by the time he was mid-sentence.
"Guys, this place has occasional human visits… do you want to risk being exposed? What about our clothes, what if someone takes them before we come? What if we are being watched…." He went on and on.
"Maybe you can stay behind and guard our clothes Mal, because I ain't changing my mind. Bridge is already giving me a hell of a headache." Tom said with sarcasm.
"I ain't changing mine either," I added. "Fine! Let's get caught together then." Mal said removing his clothes and we hid them in a thicket.
Eyes closed, bones cracking our structures changed one by one, tails shooting out and we stood there as huge lions with bushy manes.
My lion Zeus is gold in color and has dark black mane, Bridge, Tom's lion is light brown in color with dark brown mane whereas Luis, Malcolm's lion is almost dark brown in color and has a reddish mane.
Weird as it sounds, werelions have different colors from real lions. The goddess has not only endowed us with supernatural speed, strength and agility but she made us so unique that if humans were super intelligent they would be able to tell the difference between werelions and real lions.
We took off at an exhilarating speed, feeling wind brushing over my fur and melting that anger away. There was a stream at the end of the big stretch of the forest and we sat there lapping water from it and swimming a bit.
I wished I could hunt but I knew it's impossible here. I can't wait to go home where I can freely be myself without all these constraints.
My mind raised back to Lucy, wondering if she would be able to accept me for who I am. I can't force her and I won't I just hope she will willingly accept me on her own will.
I felt a wet nose nudging me and I looked towards it's direction. How long had I zoned out?
Bridge and Luis were staring at me like I was some funny movie. "Whaat?" I queried through our mind link.
"You zoned out on us for good twenty minutes you twit. Are you getting comfortable in here, we might get caught and wildlife department get called on our asses and we be caged. Come off it and let's get going." The only one who can impulsively drag you into a situation and be the one to turn against you again responded. Tom can be a damn splinter in your paw at times.
We headed back to where we left our clothes only to find a group of boys and girls roaming the place.
"Oh no! What do we do?" cried Tom. "I don't know man, why don't you come up with one of those brilliant solutions of yours?" snarled Mal through our mind link.
"Guys, stop bickering like teenage girls. We should think fast." I snapped at both of them.
"They haven't seen us as yet. Let's hide and make a roar, not too much to alert the whole place, but enough to scare them then we can grab our clothes as soon as they run off." I suggested.
"Good idea Leo but what if they faint or don't run away. Will we shift and appear before them naked? Man that would be the hottest topic on social media blog for the school.
I can imagine the headline ; "The secretary General caught in the bush stark naked... Hahaha!" Tom was now rolling with ripples of his laughter irritating the heck out of us through our mind link.
"The idea is worth trying though" said Malcolm. We all agreed to try without Tom making fun of our predicament. We hid and I roared just enough to scare them.
They looked towards the direction of the sound. " What the heck was that?" one of them asked. "A roar of a lion." Another responded. "Do we have lions around? So close to civilization and outside a park?" another shouted his voice lased with fear.
They all mumbled whatever they were mumbling amongst each other with incoherent voices, fear and confusion settling in and just then, our impulsive Tom let out another roar, a little bit louder than mine and they all scrambled and scattered running for their dear lives.
A girl stood frozen on the spot. I guess she was so scared that she couldn't move.