[LadyCrowsong]

The lioness was a young one, but strong and quickly gaining power among her pride. She had even gotten the attention of the males "beta" that is, the best friend (and sort of subordinate) of her father.

Their first cub looked like his mother, the second like his father. The daughter was a blend of her parents.

But the adolescent queen was making a mistake. She had been meeting a nomad lion, a male a little older than her who was tall with blonde fur and a mane barely grown out. He was not all that impressive, yet there was something about him...
Until the lioness returned from a hunt to see her young, not-yet-in-the-pride cubs. The kill dropped from her jaw when she saw the nomad, lunged at him, and fought.

She had been early enough to save the lives of her sons, but too late to let her daughter live on.