Several weeks had passed, and our lives had fallen into a comfortable rhythm.
We hunted large game, such as buffalo or wildebeest, once a week as a pack, and then, after a few days of feasting, it was up to each of us to find our own food.
I wasn’t particularly fond of zebra meat; I found it somewhat bitter.
While smaller antelopes offered a sweet flavor, they weren’t very filling, so I typically sought out larger deer and antelope species.
We hadn’t moved from our current location, as it was a remarkably perfect spot.
Instead of always maintaining my sandy coating, I would often take a long, refreshing swim and then climb one of the nearby trees.
Others would follow suit, and soon the tall trees were adorned with several leopards dozing on their branches.
This was a life I approved of, and I noticed how strongly feline instincts had taken hold of Tim, Taylor, Dresden, Magnum, and others.
It had indeed changed them, as well as Wulfe.
He was now practically fused to my hip, always sleeping next to me, hunting with me, and eating with me, much like Adam and Charles.
While we might hunt alone at times, we more often did so in smaller groups.
For instance, Tim, Taylor, Murdock, and Dexter formed their own unit, while Leopard, Demon, Magnum, and Colin hunted together.
As for me, I had my males, and Elena and Katherine hunted as a pair, proving to be skilled hunters who brought in substantial game, which in turn attracted more males.
Colin, in turn, stayed close to me; for him, being a cat was a vastly different experience than being a wolf, and he truly relished broadening his horizons.
I was once again lounging in a tree, with Wulfe already asleep directly above me, when Mariella’s irritated voice reached me.
“Mimi,” she began, “how are things going for you? For us, not so well. The males are so damn lazy; they won’t hunt, and we can’t get anything larger. Whatever we manage to catch barely has any meat left on the bones because the males insist on eating first.”
A smug feeling washed over me as I replied, “We’re doing just fine. I was just about to take one of my naps. We’ve eaten plenty. But you know, lions have a pride; that’s what a group of lions is called. And male lions typically don’t hunt when females are present. It’s their hierarchy; they defend the territory and the females. You should watch your nature shows.”
She sighed and asked, “Could you give us a few pointers? Show us how you hunt. What are we missing here? I mean, Mimosa is fast and skilled, but even she can’t catch anything bigger than an impala.”
“Fine,” I said to her, “get your guys and come find us. It will take a few hours, so I can get my nap in. After all, it’s our big hunting day, so we can certainly show you how this is done.”
“What I can tell you is that the Salvatores are lazy. They use their status as male lions as an excuse not to bother hunting, but they expect you to do the work. You could remind them that many male lions live alone and hunt their food without someone bringing it to them. They don’t need eleven males to defend territory, but they’re good at coming up with excuses just to lounge and eat. For us, hunting is a big part of the fun; otherwise, this would be quite boring. Hunting is one of the things that awakens your instincts, but I guess Salvatore might suppress yours a bit, you being a beta, made to serve him.”
I could feel Mariella’s fury as she realized what they had done.
Well, she could be sharp with her words too.
In clipped tones, she said, “It will take a few hours, but we will let you know once we are nearby.”
She was beyond pissed, and I just sighed, closed my eyes, and fell asleep on my perfect tree.
This was just perfect for me – no missions, no inter-pack drama, no hard decisions.
Yet, I knew this wouldn’t last forever, so I was determined to wring every bit of happiness out of this moment that I could.
A few hours later, as we woke up, the silky voice of Number One said via hive, “Oh, you have a nice place here. Care to wake up?”
I opened my eyes and noticed a pride of lions sitting and sniffing around our spot, though they weren’t marking it.
They didn’t seem too happy with our condition, and from what I could see, they were all a bit lean, whereas we were the epitome of health.
I jumped down, with Wulfe following me, pushing and purring as he usually did.
This made Damon send his jealousy via hive to me, but I ignored it and stretched myself, fully waking up.
Oh yes, a good meal was in order.
As the rest of us woke up and were ready to hunt, I announced, “Now you need to learn some teamwork. Watch and learn.”
We jogged through the tall yellow grass, our steps silent until we spotted a herd of water buffalo.
Wulfe declared, “Fine, those will do. Let’s go, guys!”
I then turned to the Salvatores and said, “Go on. Wulfe will put you in your place, and then you can see what this is all about.”
I scoffed, replying, “Our job is to cause panic. You see, right this minute, the males are moving through the grass, taking suitable spots. Once the herd reaches them, it’s time for them to attack, full of adrenaline. We chase, they wound. As I said, it’s group work. For us, it’s not always the females who chase; males can have stamina as well. But as male lions are heavier, they aren’t as good at sprinting, though they are strong. You need to chase the prey for some time, and then give them a window to attack and inflict some damage. It’s like a game of passing the baton.”
Mariella, her voice surly, responded, “Of course. Well, when do we start, and how do we do this?”
I explained, “Once Wulfe gives the okay, we’ll run right towards those last ones. You, Mimosa, and Shadow, run this side. We’ll go herd the pack on the other side. We’ll chase and try to separate a few suitable ones to give the males targets.”
She nodded, her adrenaline already rising.
I realized she needed me, the alpha female, to tell her what to do; she was much more of a beta, and somehow Mimosa and Shadow were betas as well.
It seemed pack life was about to become much more interesting: three betas, three alphas, us females.
“Go,” Wulfe finally said to me, “we’re ready. The Salvatores are hesitant, but Adam and Charles are first in line, then me, then a few Salvatores, and Magnum. We might be able to take down two beasts.”
I turned to the females and declared, “Time to hunt. Now, let those hunting pheromones loose! The wind is coming from behind us, so once we’re on point, our pheromones will panic the animals even more, tiring them out.”
We dashed like lightning from our hiding place, causing the water buffaloes’ backs to tense with fear as they bolted.
Panicked and scared, Mariella and the others flanked them on the right side while we were on the left, herding them towards the males.
Mimosa sprinted eagerly, almost snapping at their heels.
My pheromones amplified the animals’ panic, and soon their fear and sweat filled the air like perfume to my feline senses.
We ran for less than half a mile when the first males burst out, leaping at the flanks of the nearest beasts, carving deep gashes and biting them.
Even the beasts shook them off, their energy now high and ready to run and attack as much as possible.
More males dashed in, and soon there were at least three badly wounded buffalo.
These large males still had the desperation to run, but their wounds taxed them.
Then, the male lions joined in, having seen how the hunt worked, and they zeroed in on those three.
Finally, the last of the males joined us.
The first buffalo was already down, with the Salvatores beginning to eat.
Fine, let them.
I said to Mariella, “Come on, let’s take that one out.”
We sprinted towards the third buffalo as the males attacked the second one, bringing it down as well.
Mariella managed to sink her jaws into the buffalo’s throat, biting down.
The buffalo swayed and finally collapsed in a heap, its eyes glazing over.
Mariella let go and exclaimed, “Oh wow, this is the biggest one I’ve ever killed! What a damn rush!”
The females were eager to eat as well, and I told Mariella, “First things first: the balls. They have hormones, nutrition, and they’re tasty.”
I let her devour them this time.
Meanwhile, Mimosa and Shadow were already ripping the buffalo’s belly open, taking out the guts.
However, I claimed the heart and liver as the alpha female.
There was plenty of fat for all of us and delicious, succulent meat to eat.
Three massive buffaloes presented a feast for everyone, including our special friends.
However, it was only after we had finished feeding that the males began devouring two of the carcasses while we were still focused on our own prey.
Soon, a group of leopards, including Charles, Adam, Magnum, and Wulfe, jogged towards us.
I rolled my eyes, but Wulfe reminded me, “Unicorn, our pack numbers thirty individuals. That’s ten per kill, so you’ll have six, and we’ll have four, making ten.”
I thought, “That’s fine then.”
“I can share,” I conceded.
Mariella chimed in, “I killed this one! This damn system works, but I’m not sure if I need to eat again anytime soon because this is so damn good.”
Charles praised her, “Well done, little one.”
We continued our conversation via hive-mind, as our feline instincts didn’t reduce us to mere animals; instead, we were simply utilizing this aspect of ourselves in a new way.
As I was digging into the retroperitoneal and kidney fat, Adam pushed my head aside and snatched the kidney from my grip.
I let him have it; I was already quite full, but I was consuming as much meat and fat as possible, anticipating a refreshing swim followed by a long nap in my tree to digest this mega-meal.
Once our bellies were full, it was time for the next step.
I told Mariella, “Now, we help those in need. You three, go and sit over there; you will see everything.”
I didn’t say anything further, noticing Wulfe leading the others to the tall grass, where their scent wouldn’t carry our way.
I gripped the first carcass and began dragging it to another patch of grass near the forest edge, while Wulfe dragged another.
The vultures could have the last one.
The grass was shorter here, and there were termite nests nearby, but we placed the meat in the shade.
Wulfe then rejoined the other males as I focused and chirped, releasing my friendly pheromones to ensure they went in the right direction.
I chirped again.
As movement stirred within one of the old anthills, a cheetah emerged.
She looked at me, and as I walked closer, I greeted her in feline language, “Hello, I mean no harm.”
She responded with a simple “Hello.”
I led her to my carcasses, allowing her to sniff them while I sat a little further away.
Soon, she let out a peculiar, softer chirping sound, repeating it several times.
Once again, the anthills stirred, and four small cheetah cubs emerged, running to their mother, ready to eat.
Mariella, her voice filled with awe in my mind, exclaimed, “Oh my god, those are adorable! How did you do this? I mean, she must be so hungry.”
Wulfe, however, explained, “We saw her a few weeks back when the cubs were very small. Mimi has put some damn strong protection against wild lions and other predators, and we usually leave her the rest of our meals. She has four mouths to feed.”
Mimosa added, “Mimi, you are a true savior. I mean, we have wallowed in self-pity and bitterness while you get to witness this.”
My reply to her was, “It’s all about attitude, nothing else. These have been a fun few weeks, I must say.”
To my surprise, Number One said to me, “Baby, this is week nine. Just over two weeks left, and I think we’ll be hanging around your campsite.”
Charles, possessive of me and wanting to keep me to himself, suggested the lions’ camp on the other side of the river, where there were good spots.
As we finally made our way back to our campsite, I idly pondered what kind of challenge we would face in three weeks.
Dark jealousy washed over me in waves from several Salvatores, and I wasn’t sure if I would spend it with Charles, Adam, and Wulfe, or if Damon would come up with something new to ensure he would be near me.
But it was all fine; there was no need to think about the future when this was too much fun.
Upon our return, I immediately waded into the water, washing off grime and sweat, and cooling myself down.
Others followed, and soon the lions were in the river too, cooling off, even playfighting, or washing their wings, as all the Salvatores had wings in their lion form.
Mariella, Mimosa, and Shadow were also enjoying themselves as Elena and Katherine taught them quite a few tricks, including my sandy coating.
Mimosa, though, already knew about it and was quite eager to do it again.