, longer than they were wide, with a clear curve where the ball of the foot had pushed off. Five distinct toe marks at the fron

to clear the stars from his vision. "That th

a kill every single time. This one does." His eyes gleamed with a cunning tha

cheetah form. He was meticulously licking the mud from hi

g curiously. He still smelled fai

don't make a big deal out of it, maybe they'll for

brutal authority. The world turned brown and brittle. The water holes

ecame

egan to show. He lay on a sun-scorched rock, staring at the s

cumentary he had once filmed

mud like a shattered mosaic. He started diggi

n, the soil turned damp. A few more frantic scrapes, an

y while Franco stood guard, h

ed. Aaron was stunned. Phillip just flicked his tail, a smug, I-told-you-so ex

rper than before. Franco decided to risk

animals who hadn't been smart enough or strong enough l

se was a screaming siren in his human mind. He could feel the eyes of the lions tailing h

giving out from exhaustion. He sat down with a s

nudged the cub with his head, and th

, his small body trembling with

have to resort to eating bark, a new scent

ept toward a tall patch of grass. P

lled with more than a dozen enormous,

protein-packed, al

gs, but his jaw wasn't wide enough. He tried to cra

gs, but he knew even a lion would have trouble with the

, his mind racing. He was so

then at the eggs. He th

uman determination

now-familiar golden light. He was about to use the one tri