Elanna cried aloud and ran to him, wrapping her forepaws around him and bearing him to the ground as she covered his features with warm kisses. “I’m so sorry, Kubali...I’ve been such a fool.” She rubbed her cheek to his and nibbled his ear gently. “Love me, Kubali...you make me feel so special.”
He smiled at her warmly. “You ARE special, Elanna. I want to make love to you, but I need to understand what just happened.”
“My mate appeared to me. He told me that I should not be afraid of my feelings for you.”
Kubali stared silently at her in awe. “I’m glad. Your Taka really loved you. I really love you too. I won’t be jealous if you won’t feel guilty.” He nuzzled her. “Do you want to tell me about him?”
She initially looked away, but she settled beside him. “Taka was very sweet but very sad and afraid. Once when he was a cub, there was this badger....”
CHAPTER: AN AWKWARD MOMENT
The next morning, Gamu looked at Kubali with a smile but also a hint of reproach. “Miss some sleep last night?”
“Yeah. The lightning and thunder.”
“I bet. It’s a wonder you slept at all.” He glanced at Elanna who hung her head embarrassed. “All that lightning and thunder.”
Kubali looked at Elanna. “Lannie, are you OK?”
“Why shouldn’t I be?” She edged nearer to him, but said nothing more. Kubali glanced at Gamu, then back at her. She made no sign whether she wanted Gamu to know about them.
“I bet you didn’t sleep well either,” Gamu said at Elanna, pointedly. He winked slyly.
“Look here, Gamu,” Kubali said sharply.
“Yes?” Gamu smiled.
For a moment, Kubali was nonplused. He didn’t know what to do or what to say. He looked at Elanna again, seeing how she wanted to curl up and die.
“Look here, Gamu. I’m unworthy of her, an exiled prince with no one to blame but himself. But last night, that wonderful creature....” He became inarticulate for a moment, looking for the right words.
“We made love,” Elanna said, moving next to Kubali and nuzzling him.
Kubali found his tongue again and straightened with pride. “Yes. Many times. And if I died tomorrow, I could look Aiheu in the face and tell him I’ve lived a full and meaningful life. Well, Gamu, aren’t you going to congratulate us?”
Gamu smiled meekly. He’d clearly lost the first round. But if anything, he was tenacious. “I’m glad for you. Both of you. I’ve lost to the better lion.”
Elanna pawed Gamu playfully. “We need to find you a mate. But for right now, you understand, we’ll need some privacy.
“Of course. You just give the word.”
Kubali leaned against Elanna and purred softly. “The word is given. Go scout up some gazelles--or something.”
“As you wish, Lover Boy.”
CHAPTER: JUST BETWEEN US
Gamu was soon over his disappointment at Kubali’s triumph. After all, no prize easily won was worth much. Tolerating their desire to make love in the morning, Gamu went to the watering hole and looked at his own reflection. He tried to make the most sad face he could create and looked at the reflection. “Oh Gamu,” he said in a rough imitation of Kubali’s voice. “Why did I ever let you back in my life? Why didn’t I see this coming??”
Gamu could no longer keep a straight face, and he rolled on his back with laughter. “Griz, get over here!”
Nonplused, the hyena left the cover of the reeds. “How did you spot me?”
“I didn’t. I just know you, you little sneak. The same way I know Kubali and Elanna. And my little flea-bitten friend, knowledge is power. So he’s breathing down her neck, is he? It will give him something to think about when he’s on the savanna alone.”
“I thought you wanted to kill him,” Griz’nik said.
“I’m not sure. I wandered around alone for the longest time. I know what it’s like. But for him it will be far worse. He’s lost the kingship, and he will also lose her. I see those shapely thighs of hers, and I think about the sweet delight of her lithe golden body....” He trembled. “How much sweeter it will be to know my enemy is alone and unloved! And every time she cries out my name, it will pull out a thorn that lion put in my heart!”
Griz’nik looked at him crossly. “You’re sick, you know that? Even I can tell she’s beautiful for a lioness. If I were you, I’d take her out behind the reeds, and Kubali would be the farthest thing from my mind. My gods, Gamu, if you want to know what I think....”
“I DON’T,” Gamu said, swiping at the hyena and shoving him into the water.
“One of these days you’re going to go too far,” Griz’nik said, huffing and puffing as he left the cold water.
“And then you’ll do what?” Gamu patted Griz’nik on the cheek. “Face it, my little friend. You need me. Even if you could kill me, and the thought is laughable, what would you do? Expect a handout from the mistress you ill treated and her husband? I think not.”
“You promise me much,” Griz’nik said, “but what have you actually delivered? A couple of lousy rabbits?”
Gamu gave him a withering look. “These things take time to be done right. Remember what I told you about the territory to the south?”
“The land between the hills?”
“Yes. You and Elanna and I. You’ll get to hunt gazelles and no one will bother you. Maybe you’ll find another mate and have some little--whatever it is hyenas have.”
“Pups.”
“Yeah, right. But only if you obey. Only if you wait. I’m not like your Taka. I won’t be pushed around or circumvented.”
“Circumvented?”
“Shoved aside.”
“You and your big words.”
“Big words for a lion with big ideas.”
Griz’nik shook himself, and water went flying about, getting in Gamu’s eyes and wetting his mane. Griz’nik tried not to smile broadly at the mischief he’d created. “Oh, pardon me.”
CHAPTER: LATER THAT DAY
Gamu came back later that day. Elanna was lying on her back, a blissful smile on her face. Kubali was sitting sphinx-like a short distance away, looking at her with mixed pride and love.
Gamu tapped Kubali on his shoulder, jerking him out of his reverie, and he signaled for him to come away a short distance.
“This had better be good, Gamu. You know I said I needed some time alone with her.”
“You know, Kubali, I’ve tried hard to earn your respect and trust. I keep hoping someday we’ll have a land of our own, and you will be my King as it was meant to be.”
“So?”
“I come to you as a good friend to tell you something you need to know about your mate. She carries a burden on her heart and you can help her find peace. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Kubali looked at him skeptically. “A burden? She discusses everything with me, no matter how drastic. We’ve been completely honest with each other.”
“Then you know about how her husband died? Have you told her yet that you’ve forgiven her?”
“Forgiven her? For what?”
“Oh my gods,” Gamu said in a near whisper. “I thought you said you were completely honest with each other.”
“What are you going on about, Gamu?? Is this another one of your tricks??”
“Tricks?? It’s true--no good deed ever goes unpunished. Fine thanks I get for trying to help you! I know very little about her past, but she’s admitted to me the cause of her nightmares.”
“Her nightmares? She won’t discuss them with me. Why should I believe she told you?”
“That’s PRECISELY why. She doesn’t care what I think of her. She could ask me anything. You’re another matter entirely.”