Branded By Tears (Paperback or Softback)

Mauja’s dream of being a mother dies along with her stillborn first cubs. That same night, the heartbroken lioness stumbles – quite literally – upon an orphaned baby cheetah.

Two choices lay before her: End the cub’s misery. Or adopt him.

Unable to bear seeing the loss of young life again that night, Mauja does what would be unthinkable to her pride sisters. She takes the cheetah baby as her own son. Now, she must face new challenges. The pride will not accept her or her son. And worse yet, she finds out quickly that raising a cheetah in lion ways may spell doom for him when he grows up.

Mauja has one hope left. She must find a mysterious pride of lions called the Mahari. A pride who, the stories say, possess a special, powerful secret that may help her. Mauja knows her father was a Mahari lion. She bears the marks near her eyes – Mahari’s tears – to prove it. But are the stories about the Mahari actually true?

The path ahead for Mauja is uncertain. Finding the Mahari means she must leave her pride, her home, and everything she’s ever known. And what if the stories aren’t true?

What if the risk and dangers are too great?

Mauja, with her cheetah son Ṣìkẹ́mi, must choose to make that leap of faith. Will they land safely on the other side?