The lion settled down on the floor of his cage in defeat and nervousness. This wasn't the first cage he had been in, nor the second, and if he could guess, it wouldn't be the last either. The lion (aptly called such by his captors) was being transported in a large, dank truck all on his own. He had been moved from a zoo before, he had lived in his first habitat for five years before another zoo had procured him, or so he had heard. The humans didn't care to keep their voices down around him, and spoke as though he wasn't there nearly all the time; however, right from the start of his move, the lion could tell that this time was different. There were only two keepers on this transport, and they rarely said a word unless it was explicitly involving their task at hand. It was another zoo, he was able to tell that much, and from the looks of things it was either private or poor. The lion truly hoped that it was the former.

It was a shame, really, that the lion was being moved. He had only been transferred to his previous zoo a year ago, and was finally starting to like it there. The zoo keepers paid extra attention to him, as he was the only male there, and the patrons were always generous with their food, though he knew they weren't supposed to be; he had to admit, the food those humans eat was pretty damn good. The lion had even met a lioness whom he, at the prodding of the zoo keepers, had mated with. She was due to have their cubs within a few months, he had heard the keepers talking about it, and he was overjoyed at the thought of having a kittens.

This was both the biggest question for him, and the biggest concern. The keepers had guided the mating of the lion and lioness, yet now they were pushing him away! His kittens would grow up fatherless as he had, or even worse, the lion wondered if they would bring in an entirely new male to raise them. With a sigh, the lion lowered his head and began to clean his forepaws. While he was provided with slight comfort, the act only served to remind him of what was now taken away from him. He would no longer have cubs to call his own; no longer have a mate. He was alone just as he had been when he was taken from the wilds. What are they going to do with me? he pondered. The lion closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The lion was jolted back to the real world as the van drove quickly over a speedbump. The slight bump was not nearly enough to push the lion into the air, though lean the lion was, as most animals were, quite heavy, but it did rattle the cage. As he opened his heavy eyelids, the lion was disappointed to see the same sight he had been staring at the entire ride over, an empty, noiseless van. Rising up in his cage, he paced in circles trying to see if anything had changed. Again there was a bump, which had jostled him only slightly; from what the lion could tell, it seemed as though they were going uphill. As if in response to his assumption, only seconds later did a thin ray of light sneak through the small gap between the van's back doors. The lion moved towards the light so that he might see through the crack, but to no avail. Instead, the lion extended a claw and left it in the light; that was as close as he could get to it.

After what felt like an hour or so more, the van came to a stop. The lion retracted his claw, and moved his paw away from the sides of the cage. He knew that the keepers liked it when he was as far away as possible, so he kept to the center of his cage. The lion's ears perked in interest as he heard the front doors slam and a mess of noise emanate from the back doors of the van. In an instant the doors were open and daylight poured in, blinding the poor cat.

When he opened his eyes, the lion knew that he was well beyond his past home. Looking up where he once would have seen trees or a busy highway, depending on which direction he was facing, the lion now took into view something he had never seen before besides in pictures scattered around his old zoos: mountains. As beautiful as the mountains were, the lion could only take a glance at them before the zoo keepers managed to slide his cage onto a trolley and throw a blanket over him so that he might not react poorly when seeing other animals. He knew this drill well.

When he was finally allowed to see, the lion was left to himself in what he believed to be a veterinarian's office; a place that he was well acquainted with. He was still in his cage, sure, but what astounded the lion was the lack of security around him. He was seldom left alone without some kind of guard or protection watching over him whenever he was outside of his enclosure. Mere moments after this observation, his vet walked in with a clipboard and a broad grin. He looked up from his notes and stared firmly at his specimen. “My, my," he said, “you sure are a handsome one!" The veterinarian laughed loudly and the lion's tail began to sway. He wasn't entirely sure what the man had meant, but he had heard the term enough around him to know that it was a good thing. Then the vet did something unexpected; in one swift motion, he unlocked the door to the lion's cage and let him out.

The lion stood in his cage, refusing to come out. He was plagued by both fear and excitement, but this was all too strange, and as such, when the vet moved his hand to guide the lion out, he growled loudly. The veterinarian only laughed again and grabbed him by the mane, forcing him out with great strength that caused the lion's legs to move without much of another choice. The veterinarian moved his face closer, his nose almost touching the lion's as he moved his hands through his luxurious mane. The lion stopped growling, but instead, looked down as the vet stared at him. It was strange for him to feel so submissive, but something about the man was causing him to stand down, and to be honest with himself, the lion didn't really mind.

The vet stood up and ran his hand down the length of the lion's body, ending with the small fluff of hair on his tail. The lion purred as the veterinarian pet him; he had never felt so comforted before. The veterinarian then moved down to check each of the lion's paws and his underside. “The other zoos have taken care of you much better than they have most of the others I see in here," the vet told the lion, “you were very lucky to be treated so well." The lion looked down at him as he began to move back to his chair in front of him. “But I promise," he said, petting the lion's mane, “you'll like it here even more." The vet nodded in affirmation. “And by the way," the vet rubbed the top of the lion's muzzle, “I must say you have a very beautiful mane, like fire!" In any other circumstance, the lion would be at the throat of the human by now, but this was not any other circumstance, and the lion enjoyed being touched more than he ever had.

Spinning around in his chair, the vet flipped through his clipboard and muttered to himself about vaccines and diet. The lion sat patiently in front of him, waiting to see what would happen next. This human is kind, the lion thought, I like him much more than my old one. The veterinarian back towards the lion with a spray bottle in his hand. Immediately the lion recoiled, but the vet gestured for him to return to his sitting position, and in willful obedience, he did. The vet grinned and moved the bottle so that it was adjacent to his mane. “The other lions will absolutely love you after this." The lion looked on in confusion, and suddenly the veterinarian sprayed the strange liquid into his mane, circling him several times while doing do. By the time the vet finished, the lion's mane was soaked with the stuff, and each whiff of it sent a shiver down his spine and made his tail sway wildly. Whatever it was, it was good. The lion's mane was quick to dry off, and with one final examination of the lion, the vet lead him back into his cage and left.

It was early morning when the lion awoke in his cage. He was alone yet again, but through a small window he could see an enclosure, large and filled with obstacles, which would soon be his if the lion assumed correctly. The lion studied his cage once more, and found that a nameplate had been added to it: Michael. The lion purred at his new name. Michael, he thought as he wracked the name around in his head, I like it. It was half an hour later when the gate to his cage finally opened, and the lion sprang free into his new habitat. He could still smell the strange perfume on him, but his senses had finally dulled out the scent. Michael wandered his new home cautiously, looking out for anything littering the ground, or anything that was obscured by the tall grass that covered his habitat in small patches. It didn't take long for him to see the tails of the two great lions who would be living in there with him.

The were laying down at first, but as Michael approached, the two males turned around and cautiously walked towards him. Both bowed their head in greeting before moving forward to sniff out the new blood. As they approached him, they took deep whiffs of his scent, pressing their noses to his mane, but found that Michael's oder was not only unnatural, it was delightful and compelling. The males purred and nuzzled his mane and cheek in bliss, drawn in by his smell. Michael was taken aback by the lions, and stepped away from them, causing the pair great confusion. The lion standing to his left was lean, like Michael, but held a certain pride to him. His mane was an oddly bright orange and his tail swayed back and forth behind him in excitement; he seemed younger than Michael. The tail of the lion to Michael's right was doing the same. He was certainly bigger than either of them, most likely older than Michael too. His mane was dyed in a similar fashion, though it was claimed by a vibrant yellow rather than orange. Their hair matched well with each others, and even more so with Michael's deep red mane in the mix.

“Do you two have mates?" Michael asked in confusion, trying to figure out why the pair was acting so touchy. The two shook their heads and spoke no words. They only moved forward towards Michael and resumed their nuzzling, the younger one even grooming him. Michael gave in and dropped to the ground, the two next to him doing the same, purring loudly still.

Michael's own purrs joined their chorus, and he smiled, his tail swaying rapidly. He looked to the males; they seemed as though they had no clue what a female lion even looked like. Michael closed his eyes as the pair continued to love him. He loved them too, Michael decided, and he slowly nuzzled both of them back, giving them gentle licks on their noses. He may not have his old mate, but he had two fine looking males to love now at his side. He took one last whiff of the perfume coated air and feel back to sleep.

The days went by quickly with the pair by his side. While the two rarely spoke, they often played with Michael, racing up, down, and around the various platforms spread across the habitat for their enjoyment. They would all share their meal if one was hungrier than usual, and in the evening, they would lay on top of the tallest platform they could find and watch the sun set. On other nights, the males had their fair share of pleasure filled fun, and Michael loved it, but what he loved most was watching it grow darker as the sun reclined behind the huge mountains before the trio was called back to their cages for the night.. Michael would often have dreams about the two, and grew to deeply miss their company when they were apart. 

The veterinarian would stop by outside of their enclosure every few days and take notes. There were never any actual visitors to The Zoo, and Michael was quick to learn that it had yet to open its doors to the public yet. The trio quickly became inseparable, and the veterinarian took note of such.

It was a peaceful night when Michael's eyes shot open with fear and revelation. What had given me such thoughts as to mate with males?! 

Michael suddenly began to realize that something had changed about him, something that he had been repressing ever since his visit with the vet. Every night he dreamt of males, and every day he felt his lust for the lions whom he shared his habitat with. Just as he began to force these unaccountable feelings off and let memories of his lioness and cubs return to the forefront of his mind, a strong blast of the perfume that had stained his mane hit his nose.

Michael passed out. The memories of his lioness faded. He loved his new mates without question. They loved him back.

The veterinarian grinned wickedly.