Kael still wanted Priya, Diane, and his mother, Nalii, to join his side.
For two years they have been sitting on the fence, waiting for who might make a move.
Ever since Big Aunt's stigmatism, the trio had found it hard to enjoy peace within the pride.
They might have assumed that their actions would be forgotten but Big Aunt was the personification of pettiness. Even though she knew how overprotective mothers could be, she didn't care.
What had mattered to her was that they offended her boo, the pride leader. She wouldn't let them go so easily. Her influence was no joke especially with the pride leader personally supporting her.
Since lions could not talk, the three lionesses could not ask for forgiveness. Even if they could, it was hard to tell if Big Aunt would listen.
Big Aunt was able to do this so easily without mental inhabitants because she and the three lionesses were not from the same generation.
Whatever feeling she had towards them was only superficial. Their previous cooperation was because they were in the same pride.
It wasn't like three absent lionesses would affect their hunting rate of success.
While Big Aunt always had it in mind to exempt Nalii and Co from all her privileges, Kael was doing the opposite.
With the help of six lionesses with awakened lionhearts, their rate of success while hunting was way higher than the Hot Lion's pride.
They were able to hunt more prey and have enough spare to give to the three lionesses.
Nalii was naturally grateful, and so were Priya and Diane. It had become a norm for them now to follow Kael's group when it was time to hunt.
Even if Big Aunt changed her mind, it was highly questionable if Nalii and her sisters would even consider returning.
This is what vexed the pride leader for so long. He felt like he was the reigning king in a divided kingdom.
Normally, the stigmatization would have not lasted long and he would just sit and watch Big Aunt restructure his consort base.
But with Kael doing too much and Big Aunt being unreasonably petty for some reason, it was hard for anything to work.
The three lionesses knew that they had a better option, they just didn't want to fully leave the pride yet.
The lionesses that were on Kael's side were so exotic and beautiful, when it came to the lion aesthetic, they were top-notch.
He had always wondered how he could get those five lionesses for himself. But even they emitted auras that spoke volumes of their individual strengths.
He had noticed that he and Eidel had very similar scents and appearance. Except his fur was still regular color with a tinge of reddish-orange here and there.
What was most painful for him was that those beautiful lionesses only liked staying near that golden son of his.
Kael could guess the thoughts of his father whenever he caught him staring at the five. The lust in his eyes was very pronounced and unhidden.
He was more focused on finalizing one of his schemes. He was finally close to making Nalii, Priya, and Diane his pride members.
He would have done it before but he was sure if they would accept. Summoning the Primordial laws to conjure a contract for him cost energy.
And that energy would be gone whether they accepted the contract or not. Instead of trying continuously, it was better to wait until he was absolutely sure they would accept.
As a matter of fact, Kael knew that they would accept. They had already fallen so deep into the lifestyle of Kael's group that they could not bear to imagine what would happen if he left the pride.
'Yes,' A devious grin made its way across Kael's face. Once the possibility of him leaving the pride permanently was made clear…
########
Within the deep forest, far from the wild plains the Hot Lion pride resided, trees stood high as their leaves formed a green canopy over the land.
It was quiet, but not too quiet. Occasionally, there would be the sound of small critters and roars of strange animals that would echo from one place to the other.
The fog was visible but also see-through. It added a layer of mystery to the whole forest.
Suddenly, the ground trembled. The earth rose a bit, forming a mound before collapsing.
The sudden trembling of the ground was followed by birds flying into the air and a complete absence of sound.
*HISS HISS HISS*
A weird hissing sound came from beneath the trees. It sounded like it was coming from multiple sources, thousands maybe.
This hissing sound seemed to break a dam as animals within the forest immediately started running for their lives. They ran as far away from the hissing sound as fast as they could. But some of them were too late.
A group of six grey wolves ran with incredible speed, their legs helping them cross multiple meters at once. These wolves were large and some of them had strange muscle alignments.
Their form weaved through the trees, making haste to get to safety.
Just then, as they were about to pass a particularly thick tree, the ground beneath them exploded.
Stones and dust spread everywhere with force. Four of the six wolves made it out, they were the ones with the largest frames.
The wolves skid across the dirt ground as they came to a forced stop. Looking back, they could see eight two-meter-long gigantic spider legs sticking out of the ground.
Two of these spider legs had stabbed right through the wolves. One was already dead, with its heart and lungs directly impaled. The other was still alive, albeit paralyzed since the sharp leg divided his spine into two.
Blood gushed out of the wolf's mouth, spurring one of the wolves to make an irrational decision.
*AWOOOOOO!*
A mighty howl erupted from his chest, his body began to enlarge and red veins began to fill his eyes. Within seconds, he had gone from an ordinary large wolf to double the size.
Ignoring his comrade's disapproving barks, the berserk wolf lunged himself at the spider legs. The ground beneath him cracked from all the strength he leaked out while running.
Unfortunately, heroes like him tended to die young. Another set of eight spider legs burst out of the ground, to the shock of the berserk wolf.
All eight legs easily pierced into his body despite his enhanced defense. He died instantly after one of the legs pierced through his brain from his jaw.
The remaining three grey wolves did not dare dilly dally. Although there was hatred in their eyes, they could only run for now. The enemy was too strong.
Across the vast forest, scenes like this kept on happening. They occurred all the way to the very edge, past the wall of trees that separated the wild plains from the wild forest.