Their Little Surprise

The Noisy Box

"Amare," I sighed, annoyed with my younger sister. "I swear to you, there's a cub here somewhere."

"None of your lionesses were pregnant this year. There couldn't possibly be a cub," came her smart ass reply.

"That's the thing, Amare, it's not a normal lion cub call; it sounds completely terrified. I keep hearing it but I can't seem to track where it's coming from. My lion keeps going ballistic to find it."

"Have you asked Ekon or Drakarai or Salim? They could know more about it? Maybe their other halves can sense it?"

"No, they haven't been in range. I've already tried that. You know the probability of all of us sharing a mate. If we do end up sharing, I feel bad for the poor thing; 6 overly possessive and domineering alphas. What could go wrong?" I end with a dry, mirthless laugh. My brothers and I get along for the most part; Kellan and Mosi butt heads on occasion and both left in separate ways last winter. They come back for a time in the summer, but always at different periods. They really only have issues because they're so possessive and have never tolerated sharing of any kind. All of us possibly sharing a mate is going to be an extreme task for them and there's sure to be some tension.

Due to the fact that there is six of us, the chance of having a shared mate is nearly zero, but we've all felt a bond between us stronger than the average brotherhood, and we're pretty convinced we'll end up sharing. None of us want to admit it, but realistically speaking, it must be true. It's also supported by the fact that none of us have found a mate, but all of our younger siblings have.

A sharp, scratchy mewl draws me out of my thoughts, realizing I'd been wandering aimlessly around the territory, talking to my bold little sister on the phone.

"Earth to Jabir, hello??? Dude snap out of it before I slap you out of it!"

"Shut up Amare, I heard it again... I gotta go." I end the call without even waiting for a reply. I glance around, searching for the source of the desperate meowing. I shift into my lion form, sniffing and finding a wonderful scent of strawberries and mint. My inner lion growls in appreciation, knowing full well that what we are smelling is the alluring scent of our mate and it's oddly emanating from a small cardboard box. In the same box that the weakening calls for help escape from, I find a tiny fuzzy ball, smushed up into one of the corners.

For a long moment, I'm frozen in amazement at the precious, fragile little lion cub in front of me who is my destined beloved. I release a small huff, startling the terrified cub. His eyes immediately spring open and he pushes his belly into the ground to appear impossibly smaller, already naturally submitting to my impressive form. He releases a whimper as I maneuver my head into the small box to better see the tiny fluff ball. Unable to resist comforting the cowering cub before me, I gently lap at his head with my rough tongue, but even so, he lets out a terrified squeak and attempts to shuffle away. Seeing no other choice, I grab him tenderly in my mouth around his midsection, lifting his shaking form from the ratty box. He's frozen between my jaws, apart from his panicky shivers, and makes no attempt to escape as I retreat to the pride house as quickly as possible. As an alpha of my pride, the whole group can sense both my distress at my fearful mate and happiness for finally finding him, and in response, they file out of the pride house, confused about my signals. I communicate to them through the mind-link that from now on they need to avoid the Alphas' wing of the house until future notice, as this is where our - or at least my - mate will be staying for the time being until I can figure out why he is so fearful of others. My instincts tell me the reason is completely unacceptable within pride law, as any abuse is illegal. Judging from his reaction to everyone we pass and me especially, he has seen abuse or hardship of some form in the past.

Reaching my dark wood-paneled and brick room, I hop onto the California King sized bed in the middle of the room. settling the lump of shaking, white fur onto the extremely soft, grey comforter, he whimpers and attempts to scoot away from me. I growl unintentionally when I realize he is both too weak to stand and refuses to move one of his back legs, hinting at an injury. I nudge his delicate frame with my snout, showing that despite my size and strength, he has nothing to fear from me. He eventually wiggles his way to my pillows, hiding beneath the puffy material. All I can see of him is his tiny tail before he curls it to himself. I crawl up to the pillows and lay right next to them, my lion forcing me to offer my comfort, even if it isn't wanted or accepted.

We lay like this for hours, myself flinching at every whimper and mewl he lets out, and him never leaving his makeshift hideaway. As I get used to his unique scent, engraving the mouthwatering aroma into my mind, it becomes clearly tinged with the sweet smell of honey; the universal signal that my mate is, in fact, an omega. This realization brings on a new slew of emotions: anger, possession, apprehension, pride, but overall these are completely dwarfed by an overwhelming sense of tranquility. A deep rumbling purr sounds from my chest as I nudge away one of the pillows, finding my mate sound asleep. I shift into my human form, still unable to stop my booming purr, and head out of the room to find us some food. I'm met with curious looks and congratulations from my brothers and I's pride members.

"Hey, Jabir. You're one lucky lion, my friend, getting your mate all to yourself, at least for awhile. We're all glad the shy, little guy found you and not Mosi," one of my betas, Zane says as he claps me on the back, chuckling to himself before heading to his own mates. His mates, Tau and Isabis were complete opposites of each other; Tau being very outgoing and rambunctious and Isabis being very mature and a hardcore nerd. They had come to the pride already a mated pair when Isabis' younger brother found his mate here. We were all greatly surprised to find that Zane would make the pair a trio, though it definitely wasn't smooth sailing. I couldn't count the number of times I've had to break up a territorial fight between Tau and Zane on both my hands and feet, though thankfully they have settled down for the most part. They've realized that Isabis needs both of them to be happy and that's all that matters to the two massive softies. The same I'm hoping will happen with my brothers and our mate, if not I'm frightened for the tiny little cub asleep on my bed as weres have been known for accidentally injuring their mate in the process of fighting for possession

Speaking of mates, I can hear slight shuffling coming from my room through the slightly jarred open door, sparking me into action. I make my way to the kitchen, greeting and sharing short pleasantries with the pride gathered for supper. Asking for an extra plate of food and stating I'll be taking my meal in the alphas' chambers earns me more than a few curious looks and even a few catcalls. I'm handed the plates and hastily return to my room to feed both my starving belly and my mate's, judging from the rumbling emitting from his tiny belly he hasn't had a decent meal in a long while.