Chapter 2

Third Person POV

Alex paced back and forth, angrily waiting for Kali to come back to the plain. Oh man when she gets here I swear I'll-

"Alex would you stop worrying, your pacing is giving me a headache!" complained Marty.

"I'm not worried about her! I'm just pissed that she's not here yet!" Alex exclaimed angrily. Pfft, me? Worried about that lioness? Please. As if. No way. He angrily reminded himself, even though every other part of him screamed he was worried about the missing lioness.

Alex's ears suddenly perked up. He heard footsteps… Many footsteps. "Everyone, hide!" he whispered loudly. Everyone had puzzled expressions on their faces but obeyed anyway. Alex and Marty ducked behind the giant boulder, Gloria hid underwater, Melman blended in with the trees and the penguins where doing their own secret operation.

I can't believe it… how can she turn on us like this? When I get my hands on her I swear I'll-

"This is where he said she was hiding out…" A male voice said as the footsteps stopped. Another male voice groaned.

"Why do we have to be here? I don't wanna miss that ceremony! I wanna get a swipe at her throat…" That made Alex gulp. They're not talking about Kali… right?

"I have to admit, I can't believe Kali would disobey her own father. Well, she gets what she deserves." Said the other male as the footsteps started again until they were out of earshot.

Alex went completely pale. Gloria rushed out of the pool and started screaming at him, but he wasn't listening. No… they wouldn't… they wouldn't kill their own pride member…! Then again… Suddenly Alex got the urge to go and pulverize every single thing that wanted to hurt Kali, so he ran, on all fours, to the direction where the other lions where headed. He gave in to his instincts and let the beast within him run loose; the part of him that still held some sanity prayed that she was okay.

Kali's POV

I glared at the creatures in front of me, all waiting the chance to pounce and rip me apart bit by bit. Truly, I thought they were better than this, especially Kaeri. I knew her since birth, and yet there she is, snarling with her lips curled up to show her canine teeth. I mimicked her position, trying desperately not to show the fear I was feeling at the moment. The leader of the pack then prowled over, tanned fur glistening in the sun, dark brown mane slowly moving in the wind. He was careful with his every movement, eves filled with disappointment and disgust. He stopped a few feet away from me, and stared at my cornered figure. He shook his head in pity. I glared darkly at the lion I once called Father.

"Really, Kalixes. I thought I raised you better than this. We are lions, predators. We kill to live," he paused "And we live to kill," he added darkly. "Why can't you grasp that fact?" he asked with a sigh, and then glared at me directly in the eyes, pupils slowly turning into slits.

"Really Father," I mimicked angrily "You should respect my decision, I think you owe me that much." I muttered, eyes flickering from anger to fear with the prides' steps forward.

"Oh, well that's where you're wrong, dear daughter, I owe you nothing. I've raised you the way only I could and you've disobeyed. I believe I had informed you of the consequences of doing so." He said as his lips turned into a sickening smile, filled with the joy of another meal and another death.

"Pfft, like I'm going down without a fight!" I roared, tackling him to the ground with all my strength.

I instantly knew this was a bad idea but I was also aware of the fact that they were probably going to search my little paradise soon enough and then my new friends would have been found out, so I did my best at stalling, even if it killed me.

That's when all the pain pilled up on me. I instantly felt all the fangs and claws that were penetrating my skin and I howled in pain, but my howl was overpowered greatly by a very loud roar. All the lions stopped their attack instantly, turning their heads attentively at Father, and their eyes widened when they realized the roar was not coming from Father, but a very familiar looking lion-friend of mine.

My eyes widened in disbelief and in awe. He looked absolutely feral that it was just plain creepy. He stood there, crouched on all fours, hair all tousled up, lips curled into a fierce snarl, eyes narrowing at the one lion I didn't think he'd be glaring at. Me.

Every step he took echoed loudly as everyone started stepping back, leaving a trail that led to me. It seemed they were even more terrified than I was, considering I was the one he was walking forward to kill. He growled with every step until his fangs were right at my neck. I shut my eyes fearfully, not wanting to hurt him even though he was about to kill me.

"Pssssst" I opened one eye and stared at him. He was smirking at me!? I gave a bewildered look. "Just play along," he whispered softly. I nodded discretely. He turned away from me completely and faced the entire crowd of curious lions. "How dare you start the ceremony without me?!" he shouted in a macho-voice with fake fury. Father stepped forward.

"And who might you be?" asked Father curiously.

"I am the conqueror of the Foosa and the King of New York! Don't dare speak to me with such insolence!" he shouted angrily and I involuntarily shivered, he was pretty creepy when he was mad. He then quickly turned around and picked me up without effort, and cringed slightly at my wounds. "I'll be taking her!" he said quickly while making a run for it.

I blinked a couple times, to try and let the events sink in. When I finally got back to my senses, I saw that I was being piggy-backed by Alex and we were running as far as possible from my clan. I involuntarily looked back and saw that they were hot on our trail.

"Don't worry," he breathed, I tried to see his face through his giant mane, but no such luck. He must have felt the fear I was feeling because his arms tightened and he seemed somewhat more… determined. "I won't let them hurt you again." I stared at him in awe, but he was in such deep concentration that he wasn't even looking where he was going, not like it matters since his instincts took over and he was swiftly moving over and under everything. That is, until we reached the cliff.

He stopped abruptly, re-realizing the situation we were in and stood protectively in front of me before the crowd of angry lions. Father took a step forward and Alex snarled; claws unsheathed. I stared at Alex; eyes wide with both worry and fear for my new friend.

"Alex," I whispered softly "Don't challenge him. He's got the upper hand here, and you're going to get yourself hurt," I said quietly. He chuckled without humor.

"You're the one who just got attacked by your own Father, has at least twenty or more bleeding cuts, and you're worried about me?" he chuckled dryly. "Tell me, how afraid are you of heights?" he whispered while Father started talking about forgiving him or something.

"Um, not much I guess… why?" I whispered back confusedly.

He just gave me a toothy grin and quickly scooped me up in his arms and jumped off the cliff. I shrieked loudly, was he trying to kill us!?

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU –NMHDBSFVS" He clamped his paw over my mouth.

"Be quiet and swim underwater to the shore right under the cliff, that way they won't see us," he whispered, clearing up my previous confusion. I had enough time to nod before being hit roughly by the ocean water. It stung my wounds and I tried crying out in pain, only to swallow water. I tried my best to swim forward but the current was dragging me deeper into the water and further away from the shore.

My cuts burned, I was exhausted and my arms and legs gave out on me. I let go and aloud the current too roughly pull me back and forth. I involuntarily let out the last bit of my oxygen as everything started blacking out. The last thing I saw where bright sapphire eyes staring at me through the murky salt water with a look of terror and worry in them.