Chapter 19: Diane And Priya

Thousands of realms and worlds couldn't prevent the sound of the roar from invading.

All the lions who heard it felt the resonance with their lion hearts, awakened or not. This was followed by mixed feelings.

Some felt threatened by the existence behind that roar and began looking around frantically, others felt relieved, like they had finally seen their savior.

As for creatures that weren't lions, they merely understood it as another lion's roar. Some ran for their lives in whichever direction, while some simply opened their large eyes before going back to sleep.

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Kael opened his eyes to see a strange scene before him.

'Why is the pride leader looking at me like that?' Kael wondered, seeing the pride leader's massive face closing in on him with a strange expression.

His face went from anger to scared to excited, to cautious. Finally, it settled on an expressionless tone, but his eyes didn't hide its quivering. He was about to take action.

Kael took a step back, preparing to run if the need arose.

Nalii roared, seeing the pride leader ready to do something. As far as she was concerned, the pride leader only looked like that when he was deciding to remove a threat. She had seen it multiple times before.

She bared her long fangs and let out sharp claws. Katari was also doing the same, even fiercer, she looked like she would jump at the pride leader if he got too close.

Pavel, who was looking from the distance felt saddened by this. His mother would beat him up ruthlessly yet look at how she was so protective of his little brother.

Why didn't she treat him the same way, he deserved to be treated the same way. Unknowingly, Pavel started looking at Kael under the light of hatred.

Meanwhile, the pride leader was a bit disturbed by Nalii's overprotectiveness, but it was to be expected, she was the mother after all. This didn't stop him from walking forward though.

But what happened next shocked him. Two lionesses that he had previously not paid much attention to also ran past him and took a stance with Kael behind them.

Kael was shocked, he had played with these lionesses but he hadn't really expected that the connection between them would cause them to protect him in this scenario.

He had tried his best to make the other lionesses fond of him, yet only two were willing to stand up to the pride leader for his sake.

The Pride leader growled, and so did Uncle behind him along with Big Aunt. The pride leader couldn't believe his eyes, how could his consorts defend this cub?

Didn't they know that he could be a threat to his reign? This was no different from treason.

Uncle wasn't too pleased either. He didn't exactly like his brother but he would rather be his subordinate than any others. He really didn't care about mating as long as there was enough food to go to him, he wasn't greedy.

Besides, his brother had turned a blind eye to his activities with one of the lionesses in the past, even exempting her from the official consort status while still having her as a pride member.

The annoying thing for him was that one of the lionesses defending Kael was the same lioness his brother had allowed him to be with.

If something threatened his brother, it would indirectly threaten him and his livelihood. So naturally, he wouldn't take kindly to the actions of these lionesses.

It was Big Aunt's responsibility to lead the lionesses and ensure they stayed in line. The actions of these two were a direct challenge to their authority.

Why defend something that could threaten the status quo of the pride.

What was worse was that the other lionesses were not doing anything besides watching the drama unfolding.

They didn't stand behind their pride leader to show their support.

Kael looked on with a strange calmness within. A part of his mind was still preoccupied by the new sensation he was getting and the instincts growing within his mind.

The pride leader was ready to throw hands and just attack. He was confident that Nalii, Katari, and the two lionesses wouldn't be his match.

But the look he was getting from Kael was too disturbing for him to continue. There was no fear in those golden eyes, rather, there was curiosity, alertness, excitement, decisiveness, but no fear.

That aura had toned down by a lot but it was still there. The aura seeped into his bones and touched upon his will and everything that made him a lion.

The pride leader was not like other ordinary lions, he knew the advantages of treating everything with caution.

Growling to express his dissatisfaction, the pride leader turned away. This shocked the other pride members, including those who were protecting Kael.

They did not expect the pride leader to turn away like that. At least Nalii was expecting to get some injuries from the bout.

Kael narrowed his eyes at the shrinking back of the pride leader, 'We shall see,' He told himself.

He looked down to see Nalii and the other two lionesses along with Katari, looking at him. All had a worried look on their lion faces.

Especially Nalii, she was the most worried about Kael, followed by Katari. The two other lionesses didn't seem too worried.

These were two distinct lionesses. The one on the right, Kael called Diane. She was tough and well-muscled, compared to the rest of the lionesses. She was about the same size as Big Aunt, despite Big Aunt getting to eat way more than her most times. One look at her powerful limbs and one would imagine the kind of strength that can burst out from them.

Another thing was that she was a bit dumb, Kael had observed. She was the type to do a lot of things without thinking of the repercussions. In short, she was very simple-minded.

This type of individual would put up no resistance when someone like Kael tried to be friends with her. It was no wonder she was bold enough to try and protect Kael from the pride leader.

The other lioness was Priya. Slim and also the most empathetic in the pride, probably why she could easily get attached to Kael who could match her vibe with his behaviors. She in general just did not like seeing conflict among pride members, so when someone like Kael who she actually liked was in danger, she would do her best to defend him.

Her eyes shone with intelligence and understanding, affirming to Kael that she was more self-aware than the rest.

Another thing was that Priya also had a cub, just one. But Kael had some suspicions that the cub was not fathered by the pride leader. He just had no way to confirm his suspicions now apart from resemblance and the behavior she showed towards a certain Uncle.

What was weirder was that if Kael could think of this, the Pride leader obviously knew as well. Or did he just not care or not consider Priya to be one of his consorts?

Either way, these two stood up for Kael, and he appreciated that. But he was sure that it would have gotten to a point with the pride leader that these two would have abandoned him.

A factor Kael forgot to consider was the relationship between Nalii and the two lionesses, they were born at the same time. Not necessarily blood sisters but had definitely grown up together.

The connection between the three of them would be one of those few that went beyond pure instincts. This factor greatly contributed to their willingness to protect Nalii's cub.

This mental note didn't make Kael feel bad though. With his new powers, what was there to be worried about?