Mated To The Ruthless Savanna King

per, was scraping against Fr

, rhythmic puffs of air, pulled hi

thick with fog. He'd told his building's super a dozen times that

, swinging a hand to

arm didn

He felt a thick layer of something soft and dense

s snapp

m. The light was so intense it felt like needles in his eyes, forc

. This wasn't his cramped New York apartment. This was... everywhere. An

opped, tryi

h wide, terrified blue eyes staring right at him. Cheetah cubs. His photographer's brain sup

cry. But beneath the sound, something else echoed, a tho

I'm h

ue-screened. What

sing became a clumsy, four-limbed struggle. He felt his center of gravity lurch

ful of dust and loo

Sharp, black claws emb

hat vibrated through his entire chest. He tried to scream, to shout the FML that was expl

ed his head under Franco's chin, a gesture of hesitan

o

craning his neck to look at his own hindquarters. The phy

He covered his face with his paws, the unfam

ought screamed through his mind, a

a sharp, guttural hiss he couldn't control. They scrambled back, their tiny bod

panic. It struck a chord deep inside him, a part of his human s

umsily crawled toward them. He nudged Roy with his chin, the w

Hunger. Not the polite, can-wait-for-lunch hunger of a human, but a raw, gnawing empt

s with no cover. A death trap. His photographer's instinct, honed by years of waiting for the pe

ldn't st

documentaries, gently grabbing Roy by the scruff of his neck. But

go, his heart clenching

letting out a low, commanding

. He nipped at his brother's hind leg, urging him

g hare burst from the bru

oiling like powerful springs. He exploded forward, a gold

s human brai

, lead the target, adju

His legs tangled. He lost his balance mid-air, a graceful missile suddenly

re van

own paws in utter humiliation. He had the body of the world's

didn't laugh-could cheetahs even laugh? -they just started l

lief that he was their protector, washed over him. It

ir filling his powerful lungs. This tim

n thoughts away and listened. He heard the whisper of the wind, the buzz

. Hiding beh

t plan. He let his body d

t, his body a low, fluid shadow. He saw the hyrax, a smal

n explosion of power. A single, precise bi

ck to the cubs. The smell of raw meat and blood

n and Roy, at their

o the flesh, ripping off a pi

devou

owly replaced by a strange, fierce warmth. It was the feeli