The Lion Kings (novel): a BBW Werelion Menage Romance by Renee George

fingers through Cage’s hair—a comforting and forgiving gesture. “Do you remember when I rescued you?”
    “Yes,” Cage said softly. His eyes took on the distance of memory.
    He could still see the young man, barely sixteen, and crouched naked and filthy in a cage that barely fit his already muscular frame. A lesser person would have been broken, defeated, but not Cage. The fire of fight, the will to be free, lit his eyes like a beacon. Adam shook his head. “The moment I saw you, I knew we would rule together. I knew you’d be my brother, my other half. I also knew that I would give my life to protect you.”
    Cage let out a derisive snort. “You almost did.”
    Adam nodded, a sad smile on his lips. He’d opened the cage without hesitation, even though he’d known there might be a chance the young lion could turn on him. But when Joe Armando, the older of the Armando brothers, owners of the circus that had been Cage’s prison, attacked Adam from behind, Cage had torn from his cell and ripped Joe apart with vicious savagery.
    Cage was so lost in his need to protect Adam, it had taken Adam nearly half an hour to calm him down and convince him that Carl and Gus, who’d joined him on the rescue were friends who meant no harm. The young lion had been prepared to kill everyone who might threaten Adam.
    “We pair-bonded. We’ve become so closely connected that you begin where I end, and I begin where you end. We are two parts of a whole. Or at least I thought we were.”
    “What are you saying?”
    “Calm, brother. I only mean, I think we’re two thirds of a whole, and I believe Madeline is the third part. The part that completes us.”
    “I feel the bond, Adam.” Cage’s eyes shined with raw emotion. “I feel it so strong in my heart, my gut. It’s my head that won’t let go.” He rubbed his beard with both his trembling hands. “It feels like a betrayal.”
    “Why?” Adam asked. “Clary would want us to be happy. She wouldn’t want us to wallow in our grief. So, why can’t you let yourself live what you know is true?”
    A growl of frustration and agony tore from Cage as he yanked himself out of Adam’s reach and raised his fists. “Because I want her more! Oh God,” he said, his eyes going wide at his confession. “God help me, I want Maddie more, need her more. I can’t get her out of my mind. When I try to think of Clary, it’s Maddie I see. How could I...” His voice trailed off as he dropped his hands to his side.
    “We never pair-bonded with Clary,” Adam said. He wrapped his arm around Cage’s shoulder. “She was never our true queen. That doesn’t take away from our love for her. If anything, it makes her love a powerful thing. Our human halves loved Clary, and we made her happy, just as she did for us. But Madeline... She’s...”
    “Our queen,” Cage said, finally accepting the truth.
    “Yes.” Adam rubbed Cage’s arm. “And she’s left us.”
    “Brother.” Cage’s voice, thick with self-recrimination vibrated Adam’s chest. “What have I done?”
    Now that Cage understood what his actions had cost them, Adam didn’t want to punish him anymore. They’d learned to live with loss once before, and while it would be difficult, they would learn to do it again.
     
    PRIDE , anger, and guilt choked Cage until his breathing was shallow and uneven. Adam’s words cut him deep. He’d allowed his grief, and his denial of his own feelings—instinct, drive Maddie away. His lion had taken over when he’d held her in his arms. He rubbed his hands together, still remembering the way his skin had felt. The more he’d fought his desire, the more his animal side forced the shift. He’d ran away before Maddie could see his beast
    ... but then he’d come back.
    Cage had shifted into a man right in front of her. What had he expected her reaction to be? How could she be their mate, their true queen, if she couldn’t accept what they were? Shapeshifters. Not human.
    He shook his