Beautiful.

That was the only word that came into Nicolai’s mind as he weaved through the trees in his lion form, relishing in the feeling of being in the open wilderness behind the compound. The trees stood towering over the two forms that glided over their roots with their inhuman speed becoming lost in the vast evergreens of the foliage. The sun peeked through the leaves allowing for rays of light to dance amongst the forest floor bathing the men in its warmth as they ran. Nicolai looked through his lion’s eyes seeing the magnificence of nature before him, something that he had dearly missed during his travels to the compound. Out of the corner of his eye shone a bright orange fur that clashed with the light white fur that rested along with it in the sunlight. It was a sight to behold. Aston was a golden tiger, a rare and powerful feeling that was thought to be long lost in the generations of tigers before them, being greatly feared for the power  that they had possessed. Nicolai felt pride at the sight, his mate was a vision to witness and could only be defined with one word.

Regal.

Aston felt free. He became immersed in the viridescent woods surrounding him, feeling that it was only him and Nicolai in a realm that they could call their own.The morning had been surreal for him, the sight that had welcomed him with the opening of his eyes had taken his breath away. Nicolai’s sleeping form had lay ethereally before him, a sight that felt as if he were to reach out and touch it, it would disappear like a dream. Aston had watched as the rays of the morning sun bathed the sleeping lion in the sea of white sheets surrounding the both of them. The lion’s image had looked like a soft work of art in front of his mate, a masterpiece only meant for Aston and Aston alone. Every last detail in place with no imperfections or anything unnecessary to ruin that moment that was only intended for his bright hazel eyes. His heart swelled like it had never done before, looking at the sleeping man with a newfound adoration that had bloomed from the night before. His mate had been at peace, a tranquility that Aston hoped he would witness for the rest of his life and the after, He never wanted that moment to die.

Suddenly the image in his mind’s eye slowly started to morph into something else, something that he had thought he had long forgotten in his past. Nicolai’s sleeping form was replaced with the body of someone else, a man that Aston knew all too well. The scent of his skin flooded his nose, the tiger becoming intoxicated with the smell of an earthy pine mixed with the warming caress of cinnamon. The rugged man lay before him, his masculine face resting deeply in the calmness of sleep. His warm milk chocolate beard disguising the sharp angular jawline that other men would kill for, his manly features comparable to none. Pain was all that Aston could feel at the sight of the dormant adonis, wishing to stroke the long stubble that he had learned to love so much.

Something large brushed against him.

Aston’s vision was suddenly clouded with the massive dark mane of his mate, his eyes catching the golden gaze that even still encaptured his attention. Nicolai’s eyes glowed boring into the eyes of the tiger beside him as they ran in unison, neither of their steps faltering. The memory that had plagued Aston’s mind dissolved into the recesses of his mind, the man that haunted him leaving him yet again. The tan lion next to him matched his strides, reminding him who Nicolai was to him; his mate. Freedom is what they felt. The togetherness of the feeling pulled at something that resided deep within the tiger, a bond that seemed to tug at the very soul of Aston. He watched Nicolai pull ahead of him, picking up speed looking back at the tiger with a playful gleam in his; it was a challenge. 

Aston growled at the challenge picking up his pace, if it was a race that his mate wanted it was a race that he was going to get. He pulled closer to Nicolai, gaining on him, taking shorter strides to gain traction and speed as he dug his claws into the ground to push himself forward. Nicolai looked next to him seeing the stripes of his mate shoot forward, leaving him in the dust having barely any time to react. Inwardly he laughed at his mate seeing that the tiger didn't like to lose, picking up his pace desperately to catch up to Aston. Aston had already started to put distance between them, his adrenaline coursing through his veins feeling more alive than ever. He had not felt this feeling in a long time. 

Nicolai watched his mate gain even more distance, thinking that maybe he should have taken the challenge a little more seriously. 

‘Man he's fast’ He thought. 

He continued to run trying to catch up to Aston seeing him become slightly enveloped in the greenery of the forest, he was gaining but only in the slightest compared to the tiger. Out of the corner of his eye something moved. A flash of tan fur appeared in his peripherals, his face turning towards the animal only to be astonished but what was keeping pace with him; a lioness. Next to Nicolai was a lioness keeping pace with him, running silently like a predator on the hunt. The lioness looked over at him with its bright amber eyes looking deeply at him, the only thing behind them being the glint of mischief. 

‘Eliza?’ his mind linked the lioness.

Eliza did not answer him. She growled lightly looking at something that was over Nicolai’s shoulder, the look of recognition flashing across her face. Nicolai’s head whipped around to see what his sister had looked at with such a familiar gaze, shock striking his face. Four other lionesses ran at pace with him, their bodies low to the ground as they cut through the foliage with the utmost grace. 

‘Guys, what are you all doing here?!’ he mind linked all of them. 

‘Oh little brother, you don’t think that we would miss out on the chance to formally introduce ourselves to your mate’ Adria stated.

‘Yeah Nicolai, we did warn Aston that he had yet to meet the others’ Emersyn chuckled looking over towards him meeting the eyes of her twin sister over his form.

‘It would only be natural for us to introduce ourselves in the only way that we know how little brother’ Eliza added, Nicolai’s eyes widening as he processed her words.

‘Plus Amelia and Jordyn were dying to play with this sassy little mate that we’ve told them so much about’ Emersyn goaded Nicolai

‘No….’ Nicolai whined, ‘I just got him.’

‘C’mon big brother we don’t plan on roughing him up……. That bad’ Amelia giggled, pulling forward ahead of her sisters.

The others laughed in the mind link, causing Nicolai’s hackles to rise as he looked forward at his mate in the distance still running. He knew his sisters. He knew that they were devils in sheep's clothing, and their target was the unsuspecting tiger ahead of them. 

‘Don’t worry Nico, he’ll be fine’ Jordyn reassured him as the others shot forward matching the speed that Aston had shown earlier.

Nicolai looked at his youngest sister with worry, her amber eyes carrying the same playfulness as the others which made his anxiousness rise. His sisters were his weakness and they knew that he would not stop them unless he was forced to. He had to stop them somehow.

‘Hey Nico?’ Jordyn said, making his eyes snap back to her, ‘Think fast!’

 ‘Wha-’ 

Jordyn pivoted her paws into the ground turning into her brother, using her muscular body she slammed into Nicolai paws first. Nicolai was stunned as he and his sister crashed into the dirt, their massive bodies rolling and colliding with each other. He landed face first in the dirt with Jordyn pinning him down with all the power that she could muster. Her power seeped from her body washing over him silently challenging him to retaliate, knowing that he never would. He lay there stunned, Jordyn had surprised him with this new display of power, something she must have recently attained while he had been away.

‘Jordyn, get off of me!’ Nicolai demanded not wanting to overpower her.

‘C’mon Nico, the girls are not going to hurt him. They just want to see what your

new alpha mate can bring to the Pride, you know how lionesses can be about that part.’ The young lioness reassured her brother.  

Nicolai looked up at his youngest sister from underneath her hold before switching his gaze to the lionesses and his mate disappearing into the vastness of the forest.

‘You're glad I love you guys..’ Nicolai muttered as he slowly transformed underneath Jordyn’s paws, ‘I'm just worried about the others, they are in for a big surprise. Aston isn’t like anything we’ve come across before, someone who rivals even me Jords’

Jordyn’s hold lightened on his back, ‘What?...’ 

~~~~~~~~

Aston ran freely as he weaved through the trees feeling the rush of his power slightly running along his fur, his tiger humming in agreeance within their inner world. He looked over his shoulder only to see that he had lost his mate during their little challenge. He had not thought that he had outrun Nicolai that quickly, he must have over done it like he had done yesterday in the car with Rhea. 

A barrage of roars resounded through the forest.

Aston’s hackles stood to attention, he frantically looked around his eyes wandering over the sea of green to see any inclination that he was not indeed alone. He looked over his shoulder once more to see two lionesses charging in his direction. Aston looked forward, seeing that two more had flanked him while he had been distracted, all of them running in formation like they were on the hunt. He felt a sense of panic as he had never been in a situation like this before, his thoughts all converging into one single thought. He was the prey. 

He tried to focus as his thoughts scrambled, his flight or fight response getting the better of him in that moment. Aston was more confused than anything with the fact that he was surrounded by lionesses, and that Nicolai was nowhere to be seen. His mate had mysteriously vanished which confused him and made him slightly frustrated that it was some sort of prank. His tiger growled loudly from within his inner world, his power starting to rise like it did the day before. Aston continued to run as his power surged within him, only this time not exploding out like it had previously with the others. It stayed just under his skin clawing and rubbing along it, he felt as if he would blow at any minute. 

A shadow appeared out of the corner of his eye, his instincts completely taking over and allowing him to take control of his tiger form from his beast. The lioness from his left had pivoted in the ground turning into him trying to take him out with her body. He easily dodged her assault by getting closer to the ground allowing for the lioness to fly over him and into the one that was stationed on his right. The lionesses crashed into the dirt rolling around into the brush allowing for the tiger to get a good distance away from them. Aston smirked, his attention turning to the two remaining lionesses that were gaining on him, his speed not faltering in the slightest. They appeared to be aware of his speed and intelligence from witnessing the others try to use a usual tactic in order to take him down. 

‘Looks like these two are being more cautious after I duped the other two, They are going to give me a hard time. I need to be careful and keep my power restrained even though this situation isn’t really ideal for that,’ Aston thought, trying to see what the best course of action was. 

The lionesses suddenly appeared next to him, breaking him from his train of thought, their eyes on the tiger beside them while also being aware of the obstacles in the forest around them. Aston’s eyes widened as he felt something swipe at his front and back legs, his pace starting to become irregular whilst trying to stay upright. The felines were trying to cause him to fall in order to catch him once he was on the ground. His tiger roared once more from within, the sound shaking his inner world to his core leaving in a state of bewilderment as he felt himself start to lose control once more. Power was what he felt. A hot blinding power that seemed to engulf him, but this time it was different from the day before, it was unlike anything he had ever experienced wash over him. Surprisingly he had kept it within his inner world while they ran from the lionesses, not wanting to cause them to become more feral than they felt to him. 

The power made him feel stronger, it coursed through his body allowing him to feel more connected to his tiger than he had ever been in the past. His speed started to pick up as he let his power radiate from within and within alone, allowing him to gain some distance from the felines. Aston looked back to see the lionesses struggle to catch up to him, the evidence noticeable in the heavy bellows of air escaping their bodies. He smirked to himself feeling his body travel even faster in the shrubbery, his powerful form cutting through the forest like a blade.