*Shocked gasp!* Holy muffins! Toony got another chapter up! Whaaaa? O3O.

This would have been posted last Wednesday, but I had a surprise trip to visit with family X3 X3 And now that I'm home, I wanted to get this chapter done so I can get right to work on the next chapter(Even if I don't have a computer handy, I have notebooks ;) ) So yeah, I meant it when I said that I wanted to update my older stories, and I wanted to start by trying get more chapters on this one done!

So for now, it'll be the one to get my utmost attention until I've gotten caught up with what I have already written down. X) X) X) I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!


...

...

...


Chapter 5: Nightmares and Opened Hearts


...

...

...


...

...


He was here again, back in that suffocating darkness that wrapped around him like a vice...why was he brought back here? And where was Mufasa?

"Mrrah!"

He looked up in surprise, he recognized that voice!

"Kiara?" he called out, looking around the void to see where she was. But he could find any sign of her except for her cries which suddenly began to be growing fainter as though she were being carried off as the sound of growls and these strange, high pitched clicking sound tried to drown her out.

"Kiara!" He yelled as he began to follow after her voice, keeping his arms outstretched so not to run into anything until he suddenly felt something big and fast knock his feet right out from under him. It had been too dark to see what it was, and as he picked himself up, he gasped when it was like somebody had turned on a big spotlight to his left.

And there, laying right in the middle of it, was the young princess as she lay on her back and pawed the air while she cried out for anyone to come and help her. He wasted no time getting back to his feet and rushing over to her before he knelt and bent over to scoop her up safely in his arms...only to gasp when she suddenly turned into smoke that wafted through his fingers.

"What?!" He exclaimed, startled as he looked all around for the little cub as the growls began to die while a woman's cackle rang out loudly. His heart jumped to his throat as a low growl made him look up, just barely making out four shadowy figures standing against the pitch blackness around them; And he couldn't stop a terrified shudder as he could see burning red eyes glowing from the largest one as they stared at him.

Completely frozen with fear, he could only watch as those eerie eyes came closer and closer as a malicious chuckle echoed in his ears...

"The princess is mine!"


...

...


Ryan let out a startled gasp as he jerked awake, sweat beading his forehead and his heart racing faster than a cheetah could run as he frantically looked left and right, wondering where he was...

"Ouch!" he suddenly cried when he felt something sharp clamp down on his finger. And looking down and visibly slouching back against the cave wall of the den of Pride Rock in seer relief when he saw that Kiara was safe in his arms while she nibbled and suckled on the first digit of his index finger.

Guess she thought it was about time for a snack.

"Hey, you won't get any milk outta that you know!" Ryan began with a laugh while he pulled his finger out of her mouth and adjusting her in his arms. Her adorable, albeit painful, action helping in calming him back down from the panic he felt because of that nightmare. "Your mom should be back any minuet, so just try and hold on a little longer."

The boy then began to scratch along Kiara's back, hoping that would be enough to pacify the squirming princess until Nala returned from the hunting party she left to lead in earlier that day. Thankfully, her grunts and impatient growls quieted, and she stilled as she clearly started to enjoy the feeling of Ryan's scratching. To which he let out a long, heavy sigh and closed his eyes as his thoughts drifted back to his dream...

It had been a little while since he had a dream like that, and it was so vivid that he was left feeling a bit jittery. It was different from the last one he had the first night he had spent here with Simba and his pride. Mufasa never showed up this time and dreaming about Kiara and all those shadow figures he saw didn't sit very well; However he did remember hearing that same chilling laugh, plus the voice that went with it made him shudder as it was still fresh in his mind.

And those eyes...he couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen them before, but where?

"You have really weird looking paws." a young voice suddenly stated.

He opened his eyes and looked down with mild surprise to see the thin and lanky oldest cub of that young lioness with the stripe on her head standing next to him as he stared at Ryan's hands with curious red eyes. And at first, Ryan was a little lost for words at first from this unexpected visitation, but he quickly gave the little lion a friendly smile.

"They're not paws, they're called hands." the young man said, lifting the one he was scratching Kiara with and wiggling his fingers before he laid it back down on the little princess again as the cub hesitantly came closer to as he watched Ryan continue to scratch Kiara's back while his fingers ran through her fur in smooth, even strokes.

"What're you doing to the princess?" he finally asked.

"Uh, nothing really, just scratching her back." Ryan answered him.

"But...doesn't scratching her with your claws like that hurt her?" The young cub asked with a touch of concern in his voice, earning a slight laugh from Ryan as he shook his head.

"Nah, my nails aren't sharp enough to hurt anyone if I'm gentle enough, and back scratches feel good." Ryan assured him. "Wanna see?"

The little cub looked a little unsure at first, but after he took a quick glance over his shoulders around the den, He gave a slight nod he moved closer until he was sitting right beside Ryan and bowed his head a little to give the boy better access. Ryan only gave a smile, and even though the cub jumped a little when he began to run his fingers along his fuzzy back, he slowly started to lose all his worries and relaxed as he seemed to be enjoying it, too.

"Wow, that really does feel good!" the small cub commented, relaxing even more as he rested a paw and his chin over Ryan's knee, closing his eyes as Ryan continued to scratch his back.

"Glad I can be of service." The boy said with a grin. "I'm Ryan, what's your name?"

The cub returned his smile with a shy, little one of his own, though before her could even open his mouth to introduce himself, another voice beat him to it...

"NUKA!"

Ryan blinked in surprise as the cub gasped and yanked himself away from him as if he had been burned, putting several feet between them while his mother came stalking towards them. Her eyes glittering with rage as Nuka hunched down and quivered in terror as though he had been caught doing some unspeakable act.

"I thought I told you never to go near that thing!" She spat, gesturing towards Ryan angrily. "Am I just wasting my breath when I give you simple rules?!"

"N-no, mother, really!" Nuka stammered. "Simba and Nala were gone, and I saw Ryan scratching Kiara's back. I only wanted to make sure that he wasn't hurting her, honest!"

When the lioness spoke, Ryan just stared at her, it was the first time he had ever heard her say anything around him…but it sounded so familiar. And when Nuka mentioned Kiara's name, Ryan shifted uncomfortably when she gave a low growl and glared at the infant princess as she was nestled snugly in his arms, her eyes so filled with hate and brimming with maliciousness.

And that's when he realized they were just like in his dream!

It felt like time had stood still until Ryan decided that he really didn't like the way she was looking at the innocent little cub he held, and he scrounged up enough nerve to grip one side of his opened hoodie and use it to block Kiara from her view before swallowing at the huge lump that had formed in his throat when the lioness bristled and immediately shifted her seething gaze upon him.

Ryan felt like looking away at first, but strangely, there was something inside that telling him to stand his ground. And deciding to listen to it, he held her gaze with his own equally scathing glare. They stayed like that for a good few moments, but eventually, the lioness was the first to break the standoff as her face slowly broke with a slightly amused grin while a low chuckle rumbled out of her.

"Some would think it wiser not to test a lion, boy." she said.

Ryan blinked at her statement, but if he had any questions about what she meant, he never got the chance to ask them as she lost her smile and looked back at Nuka with an irritated glare. The young cub had silently watched the whole exchange, but he immediately withered once her attention was turned back to him

"Come. Now!" She snapped, reaching her clawed paw around to push him forward before she took the lead with an agitated a flick of her tail. "I expect you to be useful and watch over your brother and sister in my absence, not worrying about cubs that aren't mine; do I need I stop trusting you to do something so simple altogether?!"

"No mother, I'm sorry..." Nuka said, looking completely heartbroken from his mother's biting words as he followed her towards the exit of the cave with his head low. "I won't do it again."

Ryan felt a rush of anger at the whole thing, appalled at how cruel she was being to the poor cub. But as he opened his mouth to call her out on the awful behavior, a body sitting down next to him made him stop and look over to see that it was Sarabi.

"Don't Ryan, Zira is not one you should antagonize; I fear you might get hurt." Sarabi warned him, though she sent her own distasteful glance to the retreating backs of the mother and son. "And even if you did reprimand her, she would not listen to you."

"But look at what she just did!" Ryan protested. "How can she treat Nuka like that? Her own cub!"

Sarabi only gazed at him for a moment before she moved her brilliant eyes around the den. And as she saw that there were only a few lionesses that were napping out of the sun outside and a good distance away from them, she let out a long sigh and faced Ryan once again.

"What I'm about to tell you, you must promise me never to speak about it again." She said in a hushed, serious tone. "None of us enjoys this tale of the past as it opens up too many wounds; especially for Simba."

Ryan was taken aback by this sudden change in Sarabi as she had ever only been pleasant and light around him, but he nodded his head and leaned closer to her so whatever she had to say would only be heard between them.

"It may not seem like it now, but our home once suffered through a great calamity after Mufasa died." She finally started. "Everyone was devastated to hear of his death. And as we were led to believe that Simba, who was a young cub at the time and believed to have shared the same fate as his father, there was only one lion left who could rightfully assume the throne...Mufasa's younger brother, Scar."

The way she said his name left Ryan with the feeling that this Scar character wasn't a good lion at all, even though she said that he was a brother to Mufasa. But the boy kept quiet as he let her continue on with the story.

"The first night of his reign, Scar allowed hyenas within Pride Rock, claiming that a pact made between the pride and the clan would better serve the Pridelands and ensure a prosperous future; in truth, my pride sisters and I were forced to serve the hyenas at their every beck and call." Sarabi said, a bitter frown on her face as she recalled those terrible days. "Hyenas are best known for their gluttonous appetites, so it wasn't long before the land became so barren and desolate, that all of us were on the brink of starvation."

"But Scar did not enforce the hyenas, and he didn't care for the wellbeing of the herds." she continued. "Many of us believed we would soon parish if something was not done, but there were some who did not see it that way. They continued to blindly follow under Scars' rule, and among them, there was none more fiercely loyal to him than Zira."

It was hard for Ryan to believe that any lioness would be okay with the way Scar ran things, he sounded like a tyrant that was only concerned about getting his way all the time even as he ran his kingdom through the dirt!

"While those who were loyal to Scar and those who were not kept to themselves, it was known throughout the entire pride that Zira was so infatuated that it almost seemed obsessive." Sarabi continued, catching his attention again. "She admired his devious and conniving mind, the way he would heedlessly flaunt his power over the kingdom; in her eyes, he could do no wrong."

"Wow, sounds like she would have made the perfect queen for him." Ryan commented dryly.

"Hm, we thought the same." the elder lioness agreed with a nod. "But imagine our surprise when one day, he announced to us all that he had chosen Nala to be his queen."

"Pff-what?!" Ryan sputtered in total surprise, wincing as he had gotten a bit too loud before he quieted back down. "You're kidding!"

"I'm quite serious." Sarabi said, smiling a bit at Ryan's amusing reaction. "But as you must already know, she rejected him entirely."

Ryan settled back down with a relived sigh, obviously happy that Nala didn't want anything to do with this other lion while Sarabi only gave a soft laugh and went on.

"After Nalas' refusal, he never officially took another lioness as a queen to stand by his side." Sarabi told him. "But he made it clear that he still wanted to have an heir to the throne, of which Zira so eagerly wanted to give him; thus, Nuka was born."

"He was such a little thing, and he was so sickly that we feared that he wouldn't last the night." The elder lioness sent a sad gaze to the entrance of the den where the poor cub had gone through only moments before. "And Scar, seeing him to be weak, refused to name Nuka as his future successor; that is why many of us believe Zira seems so unhappy with him, even to this day."

"But that's not Nuka's fault!" Ryan stated angrily, outraged by the sheer unfairness of it all. "How'd he figure he'd be weak? He was so little, he still is!"

"Where is this Scar guy?!" the young man suddenly demanded, momentarily forgetting about his fear of these intimidating predators as he felt like giving this shallow lion a piece of his mind.

Or a fist, either would work.

"You're a sweet boy, Ryan." Sarabi commented with a kindly tone. "But let me finish."

Ryan only huffed as he leaned back against the stone wall, but as upset as he felt, he still wanted to hear more.

"I was leader of our hunting parties for many seasons, but as food became harder and harder to find, we were often forced to search long throughout the days and well into the evenings; one night, our patrol came upon the horrible sight of lioness who was under attack by an alarmingly large pack of hyenas." She started, a grimmer expression appearing on her face. "She was alone, and a stranger to the Pridelands, she didn't realize that hyenas' were now living there when she came; While the lionesses of Pride Rock were relatively safe, newcomers were often attacked on sight, and we were too late to save her."

"I can remember how relived she seemed upon seeing us, but being too far gone to speak, she could only point towards a pair of boulders before she finally completed her journey through the circle of life." The old lioness continued. "She spent the last of her strength to show me the way, so when I peeked into the narrow opening of the two rocks, there I found two tiny cubs who were still so new to the world."

"The two little ones with Zira." Ryan stated in realization, feeling a little confused. "But I thought Nuka was..."

"In his eyes, he is their big brother." Sarabi assured him. "And Zira seems to love them, as does he, so perhaps it's best that they grow up knowing they are a family."

Ryan nodded, as long as Nuka and Zira took care of them, he supposed it really would be a better idea to have them be with a family rather than out on their own.

"We knew they wouldn't have survived long without their mother, so we took them with us." The beige lioness said, getting back to her story. "But when we returned to Pride Rock to demand that he punishment for the hyenas' that orphaned them, he only announced that he had finally had his heir, the young cub that they called Kovu; and since Zira was his most loyal lioness, he entrusted her to care for them both."

The boy snorted at that bit of information; in his opinion, Sarabi would have been the better choice since she was late brothers' mate and would have been a very capable mother. But there was no point in arguing about it now, and everyone seemed to be fine with Zira caring for them anyway.

"Not long after, a miracle rose from the ashes of our once beautiful kingdom." Sarabi continued. "Simba had returned, alive and grown into a strong and healthy lion; but it was also then a dark secret of Scars was revealed to us...that the brother of my beloved mate and the uncle my son adored so much, was the murderer responsible for Mufasa's death."

Ryan's hazel eyes widened with shock...Scar killed Mufasa? He murdered his own brother. But as the young man sat there, unable to say anything upon hearing this terrible news, Sarabi let out a heavy sigh as she looked to the ground with a woeful expression on her feline face.

"There was a time though, when he wasn't known as 'Scar', but as Taka." she said, a faint smile slowly appearing across her muzzle as old, fonder memories came to her. "He was such a playful cub who loved his older brother; there were happier times between us all when we were young."

"But time has a way of changing things, some for better, some for worse." She added, losing her smile. "Bitterness and jealously will take root, anger will burn, and the ambition for power will turn even the sweetest of hearts dark and cold...and lead them to do the most unthinkable things; in the end, when Simba fought and won our home back, Scar met his fate wherein only the great kings of the past could determine judgement upon him."

It was terrible...almost too terrible to even believe a word of it as Ryan tried to imagine what could have happened, what could have changed. How could someone who was a brother, and an uncle, just throw away all the good things he had as though he thought of them as nothing but trash? How could he let himself fall so far that he could do such an atrocious deed?

"My parents...they used to fight a lot because of my moms' job." He suddenly began. "I actually can't remember a time when they were able to go through a full day without an argument over the same topic; about how she was never home because she was always here."

He glanced over to Sarabi; the old lioness sat there while giving him her undivided attention as she silently urged him to say what was on his mind.

"She works as a ranger, so she spends long hours tracking animals of all kinds and making sure that nobody does any illegal hunting or poaching animals for money." Ryan explained. "But it would keep her away for so long, dad and I would often go months at a time without seeing her. Even when she finally come home, she would hardly stay longer than a week before she'd leave again; And dad...he finally just got tired of her being gone and mom got tired of the fights."

Ryan's heart burned with that old anger and pain as he thought back to the day when they finally sat him down to talk about their decision.

"After their divorce I lived with my dad, and I saw less and less of mom until the only thing I'd ever get from her was a phone call on my birthdays or a post card for holidays." He continued. "But that changed over the summer when my dad found himself a girlfriend; My mom thought it would be better if I came to Africa to live with her and study until I graduated my last year of school while he got to know his new lady...he agreed it was for the best, too."

"But you didn't?" Sarabi asked him.

"Uh, no; I'd be leaving my home, my friends, the life I had just to come live out here in a cramped space with a woman I barely even knew anymore." He stated before he had to stop and take a breath from getting too angry again. "But I'm seventeen, I don't have any relatives that lived in the same state and none of my friends' parents had the means or room to take me in; On top of it all, I was also angry...at her, and my temper just got worse because I blamed her for the whole situation after letting our family break apart."

"I know I should be prouder of her for what she does." He added solemnly. "I should admire her for working so hard to protect animals from poachers because I know they need people like mom to look out for them, but I needed her too! Why couldn't she work just as hard for me, too?"

He looked to the ground, ashamed for sounding like such a spoiled brat, but it was just how he felt.

"I snap at her, and I say the meanest things to her; I know it's not fair, and I don't mean to, but I just can't stop myself because I'm still so angry." He said, quickly wiping at his stinging eyes to stop any tears that would try to sneak out. "Maybe Zazu's right about me; honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if anyone sees me as worse than Scar..."

Sarabi said nothing as she stared at Ryan, although the boy refused to meet her eyes because of how embarrassed he was as he waited for her to agree with him, but to his surprise and indignation, she started laughing at him

"Walk with me." Sarabi said, getting to her feet.

Ryan was a little confused, but he complied to without any word as he got up as well; making sure that Kiara, who had already fallen asleep, was sitting comfortably in his arms, he followed after the elder lioness out of the den. He had to close his eyes at first because of how bright it was, but when his eyes finally adjusted, his mouth dropped open in awe...

This was the first time he had ever seen Pride Rock from the outside as he was unconscious when Simba and his pride brought him here; And as his wound healed, he had been under the strict instructions of Rafiki to stay inside and rest while moving around as little as he could. And even though he thought it was an impressively large cave on the inside, he now knew the reason they called it 'Pride Rock'.

The entire den was a huge, towering stone structure that Ryan actually had to crane his neck to see the top as it rested upon another gigantic slab of rock that stretched out in a point where the most beautiful view the young man had ever seen lay out before him in a vast grassland with a few skinny African trees as far as he could see. And across the distance, he could make out a few herds of Zebra and gazelle, or were they antelope? They were a bit too far out for him to really tell, but either way, the sight of it all was enough to take his breath away.

Sarabi sat right at the point of the platform and motioned with her head for Ryan to sit down beside her, to which he did so while he looked at her with curiosity as to why she brought him out her

"Ryan, I want to share something with you." She said, a bit of hesitancy in her voice. "Something I have never told anyone. Not Simba, not even Mufasa."

The young man blinked in surprise; she was going to tell him a secret she had never even told her own family?

"Scar was indeed terrible for the Pridelands, but I can remember a time before where it could have been much worse." the old lioness told him. "I wasn't always a Pridelander you know; When I was still just a cub, my family used to be wanderers."

"My father, my mother, my elder brother Safari, and my two sisters, Diku and Dwala, we were our own pride and we never stayed in one place for long."

Ryan tilted his head this information, he didn't know that Sarabi had sisters, or a brother for that matter. But since she was the only old lioness he had seen around Pride Rock, he had to assume that they had already passed on before he arrived.

"Those who live here in the Pridelands know nothing of man, they cannot even begin to fathom the death and destruction he can bring upon creatures like us, but I have witnessed it firsthand." Sarabi stated. "For a time, we were safe and happy, following the sun and resting where it would suit us; but there are evils in this world that never stop hunting, evils who walked tall on their hind legs and carried sticks that boomed like thunder...and it wasn't long before we crossed paths."

When she said that, Ryan knew immediately that she was talking about guns, and it was then that he got a bad feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. But he remained quiet as he wanted her to carry on.

"My mother made my sisters and I hide in the tall grasses, as she, father and Safari tried to chase them off, but they stood no chance." She squeezed her eyes shut as tears began to brim with tears, but still she pushed herself to continue. "My father and brother both fell at their cruelty, and in her grief, they captured my mother in things they called nets."

Ryan's mouth fell open as his heart clenched terribly, was...was her family hunted by poachers? If that was the case, then he was shocked that she had been nothing but nice to him. He would think that she would have even more reason than most to hate humans for what they did to her loved ones; But here she was, even in her pain, she still smiled at him without blame and looked at him like she would a dear friend.

"Look around you, dear, do you see how beautiful the Savannah is? How it's so bright and full of life?" she asked softly, looking ahead. "As much as man is to be feared, I believe they are also to be thanked for this peace. And they are to be thanked that I'm able to be here speaking to you now."

"You mean..." Ryan started, hardly believing if what he thought she was getting at was true.

"As I thought my sisters and I were next either to die or be captured, more of your kind came and saved us." Sarabi affirmed with a nod. "They came upon the evil ones hard and swift, and although they were too late to save my father and brother, they freed my mother and made sure that she was well before they let us leave. But with father and Safari gone and three cubs who were too young to hunt, my mother knew that we would be safer with a pride; She sought council with Ahadi and Uru, who were king and queen during that time and they graciously accepted us all."

"I was soon betrothed to their eldest prince, Mufasa, and seasons after I became a mother to Simba." The old lioness reminisced. "And ever since that fateful day, I won't deny that I've held anger and fear in my heart towards man, and I had hoped that they would never again return; but I also hold love, and unwavering gratitude towards those who watch over us."

"Because if it wasn't for them, well...I wonder if I would be here today."

Once again, Ryan found himself at a loss for words. For so long he had been angry at his mother as she seemed to care more animals than she did her own family, but now that he was here and having heard this story, would Sarabi even be here if it weren't for those people who saved her? Would Simba be here?

He glanced down at the small, slumbering bundle in his arms...would Kiara be here?

"I'm such a selfish jerk..." he finally muttered, looking at his feet as he felt like complete scum of the earth for his behavior.

"No, you're only a son who wanted his mother." Sarabi said gently. "Try not to confuse your yearning to have her as a bigger part of your life with what happened between Simba's father and uncle. It's not the same."

"How do you know?" Ryan gloomily asked, unconvinced.

"Because admitting the wrong that you've done, and feeling regret about it," The old lioness began with an assuring smile. "That is enough for me to believe that you will always remain good."

At that, Ryan suddenly began to feel better...much better, like this big weight had been lifted off of him. But before he could say anything to Sarabi, Kiara suddenly started to stir as her little nose sniffed the air before she smiled happily and started growling loudly as she pawed the air.

"We're back." A voice called, making him turn to see that Nala and her hunting party had finally returned as the queen stopped to talk to them while the others went to inform their pride sisters who had stayed behind of the meal. "We also brought a little something for you, Ryan, and I insist that you eat this time! It can't be healthy for you to only eat nuts and those strange smelling blocks you have with you."

"And I keep saying I can't eat raw meat!" Ryan told her in exasperation. "Are you all trying to give me parasites?!"

Rolling her beautiful teal eyes and giving a low snort of laughter, the cream furred lioness disappeared within the den to rest after the hunt while Ryan turned back to Sarabi with a soft smile of gratitude upon his face.

"You know, I've never talked to anyone like this before, shared real problems...not even with my closest friends." he confessed.

"Then I am honored to be the first you have opened your heart to, dear." Sarabi told him as she nuzzled her cheek against his arm. "And I thank you as well, for being the first to hear my story, too."

She then rubbed noses with little Kiara as the cub continued to call for her mother.

"Now then, let's get my granddaughter back inside to her parents so she can eat." Sarabi suggested, laughing a bit as Kiara let out impatient growls. "Her eyes could open any day now, and as much as Simba and Nala like you, I don't believe they'd appreciate her mistaking you for her parent."

"Hey, if they're worried about that, then they shouldn't have me babysit so much!" Ryan joked, a big grin spreading across his face as he followed Sarabi back inside the den.


...

...

...


And that's a wrap! X3

I thought it would be interesting and fun to come up with a story for Sarabis' past; I remember reading that Sarabi was intended to have three sisters, Naanda, Diku and Dwala but their characters were dropped/replaced in the long run. So I decided to mention Diku and Dwala, but since Naanda's character was replaced by Sarafina, I thought it would be fun to put an older brother in her place, thus, Safari was created.

Kovu, Nuka and Vitani were a bit harder to figure out, there are just so many theories about them and they're all good! I liked the idea that Kovu was adopted by both Zira and Scar, and it worked best for me since the writers for 'Simba's Pride' originally intended for him to be an orphan that Scar took in to be his heir. I also like the idea that Vitani is Kovus biological sister since they seemed so close to each other in the movie. And while Zira trained and raised them together and gave more attention to both them, it was very clear early on that she favored Kovu more because he was 'the chosen one'. And honestly, I feel she just treated Vitani more like a foot solider than she did a daughter. Especially at the end when she all but said Vitani was disposable after she refused to fight anymore and stand by Kovu and Kiara.

It also appeals more to me that Scar and Zira are both Nukas' biological parents as it makes the most sense of why Nuka would become so bitter and jealous that his family would just pass him over and give so much attention to a cub that had no blood relation to them as he got older.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I'll get right to work on the next one! :D:D:D