[3rd POV]

"NO!!"

Nala quickly rolled away from Scar.

On the other hand, the king was screaming and for a good reason because he was in excruciating pain. His front legs tensed and flexed while his hind legs crossed and went weak.

Her claws had not cut off his member, but it was extremely sensitive, so even a small cut felt like death. After his scream ended, he roared in rage and lunged towards her.

But his lunge was slow, his hind legs were crippled and not like how they used to. They could not push him forward as fast. Nala quickly reacted and moved back out of his reach. His claws passed right before her face in a clean slash.

She quickly moved towards his right because that was where he lost his eyes, and then she retaliated with a swing of her own.

She attacked from his blind spot, so her paw easily found its mark and raked him across the face. Scar pulled back with a guttural roar while closing his only remaining eyes.

That was too close for him. If he lost his only remaining eye, then he would be completely blind. The thought of continuing the fight immediately left his mind.

If he was not prepared to kill her, then it was too dangerous to continue the conflict. She was not someone he could toy with as a punishment.

"YOU!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!" Scar reigned in his urge to attack and shout instead.

"I never gave you permission to mate with me!!" Nala replied with bared fangs.

At this point, the other lionessess had come out from the den to see what was going on. They stood in groups at the entrance. They were only observing; no one interfered.

Although the lionessess may respect their king, they were ruthless when it came to motherhood. This includes impregnation and raising a cub. The lionessess ruled in this regard.

There was no rape in lion society. Instead, the males would often resort to killing cubs to push the females into heat so they would give consent to mate.

"Really? After all I've done for you." Scar said, his voice noticeably calmer when he saw the others.

"You've done nothing," Nala replied quickly.

"How ungrateful can one be?" Scar said dramatically. Now his eyes had that disgusting cunning that eventually brought the ruin of Mufasa.

Indeed, Scar was never much of a threat physically. It was his cunning that got him this far.

"Am I not the one who spared you when I took over the pride? I could've killed you like I did the other cubs," Scar said while walking back and forth.

"Am I not the one to feed you when you can't hunt? Am I not the one who has offered you protection for years? Am I not the one who let you hunt in my kingdom? Am I not the one who raised you?" he spat out with spite.

"It's the same for that tailess vermin," Scar said, "If my goodwill is going to be repaid like this, then I shall stop being so kind."

There was a beat of silence where Nala and Scar simply stared at each other.

And then Scar pushed the food off the ledge. The Hyenas standing below immediately swarmed the food while making nasty sounds. Thier hunger seemed insatiable.

Nala felt the hatred in her heart intensify. Her anger nearly made her lash out and attack the king once more but in the end, she slumped her shoulders and turned her back on him.

The message was clear. Now it was going to be even harder for her to get food.

She walked back into the den. She did not stare back at the lionessess who looked at her with varying emotions in their eyes.

She made a beeline for her only friend and comfort, Zuri. She lay back down next to her, and Zuri gave her much-needed support as she hugged her from behind.

Things calmed down rather quickly, just like how it escalated quickly. The other lions came back to the den while a few females went to the king and offered themselves in place of Nala.

"I did it", Nala said after a long silence.

"I did it just like we said we would if he ever tried that," she said and turned to Zuri with a barely hidden smile.

Zuri smiled back, "Was it worth it?"

"Worth it? Didn't you hear? He screamed like a pussy," Nala said.

She spoke again after a while, "But I wonder why he picked me over you, though."

She looked at the lionessess, which was Zuri. Her friend was the ideal lioness. From her shape, her scent, her colour and even in terms of her skill and voice, she seemed to be perfectly built.

"Well, probably because he knew he had no chance with me," she answered, "But you, maybe he thinks he had a chance with you,"

Nala grumbled, "Maybe I have not shown enough how much I hate him,"

"I think you do. But I think he overestimates how much you will bend for food," Zuri replied.

The two of them whispered with each other in the darkness and silence of the night. Although she may not show it, Nala was still a bit shaken. Attacking a king was no joke.

Zuri knew what her friend was feeling and was always there to comfort her.

"Did you ever think about leaving?" Nala asked suddenly.

Zuri thought about it for a while before she answered, "No. Not really, why?"

"Because I've been thinking about it a lot, you know," Nala said, "All these other animals are leaving the Pride Lands so that must mean there is better land out there,"

"Nala, this is our home,"

"I know that. I also know that you are still waiting for Leo to return and that's why you never thought about leaving. But what if he never returns? What if he is already dead?" she said, "And even if he is not dead, what if he already has his own pride and never returns?" she asked.

Zuri was silent. Having no answer to her question.

Although the thought that he would die never crossed her mind, the thought that he would win a pride of his own and never return definitely crossed her mind.

Well, how do you explain faith? How do you explain the blind trust she had in him?

Instead of answering, Zuri decided to change the topic, "Even if you leave the Pride Lands, what would you do? Join another pride and hope they accept you?"

"Maybe," Nala said, "Or I can just live by myself in the new land. Hunt for by myself, eat by myself and sleep by myself,"

"You'll be alone," Zuri said. It might seem like a cheap issue, but they were lions, a social animal. Being alone was perhaps one of the worst things for them.

"It'll be better than constantly living under Scar's rule," she said.

Silence stretched between them and as Nala thought over that lonely way of life, she second-guessed herself.

She said, "Or maybe I can find a lion who can challenge Scar and take over the pride,"

That sounded way better than living alone all her life.

Zuri chuckled and shook her head, "Don't think about it too much,"

She yawned, "Let's go to sleep now. We have to scout for herds again tomorrow."

Zuri lay down her head to sleep. But even still, Nala could not get the thought of leaving the Pridelands out of her mind.

....

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Auhtor : I think you can already kind of guess how this will go. The poll resutled in Nala being with Leo and having a deeper conenctuon after all.

Double chapter