Every Night Forever by R.E. Butler Page A

but they often communed in their hyena forms and burned the carcasses of their kills to honor their ancestors.  This certainly qualified.  They had defended Alyssa, and killed those who would have harmed her.  This was a fitting tribute to their mate.
     
    With gasoline coating the bodies, they went up in flames like the Fourth of July, but he knew from burning large game that they would have to keep the fire going with wood and burn it for a good week before there would be nothing left.  Bone and teeth were incredibly resistant to fire, and they wanted nothing tying themselves or Alyssa to the dead men.
     
    Cairo used a long metal poker to roll the bodies and tossed dry logs over top of them.  “I’ll stay here for a while.  You go check on Mason.  He’s torn up something bad over her being hurt.”
     
    They all were.  Dante had told him what happened before he left to take the deposit.  He had been certain that the gym was empty, so they must have snuck in and then hidden.  He blamed himself for her injuries and the fact that she was nearly raped, and most certainly terrorized.  He had no idea how to make it up to her.
     
    Cairo put his hand on his shoulder.  “There’s no telling how long those guys were in the gym.  They clearly knew that you took the deposits out on Thursday.  I stayed until five.  Mason was there until nine.  If we didn’t know that there were men hidden somewhere, how could you have known?  Don’t beat yourself up.  She’s going to be okay.”
     
    “Physically, yes, but I don’t think this has endeared us to her at all.  She was already so angry.”
     
    “Yeah, but she shifted to help you.  Most females would go for the phone and call for help.  She fought for you the same way that she did for me.  She may deny with her words that she cares for us, but I think her actions, and her body, betray her.”
     
    Maybe.   Hopefully.   He looked towards the darkened shape of the house.  Underneath it, in a carefully designed cavern, was their winter den.  Most humans didn’t know that hyenas denned-in for the winter; it was something that they associated with bears.  While were-bears took to their homes for the winter, so did hyenas.  Dante hoped like hell that this year, Alyssa would be with them when they went down into the den.
     
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
     
    Her fur was so soft and thick; Mason couldn’t stop petting her, hoping to comfort her while she slept.  He didn’t know how long she needed to stay in her form, but if she was like them, then she had to keep the form for a few hours regardless, because shifting back and forth quickly was very draining.
     
    She was lovely in her shift, dark gray with sprinkles of white, with pretty rust-brown patches on her hips and legs.  Her underbelly, paws, and the tip of her muzzle were snow-white and soft like rabbit fur.
     
    “Has she moved at all?”  Dante asked, coming to stand by him, where he was kneeling next to her on the bed.  It had taken him several minutes to climb up beside her without upsetting the bed and jarring her.
     
    “No.  She’s been in her form for almost four hours, though.  Hopefully when she wakes up her side will be healed.”
     
    “I think so.  You should probably cover her with a blanket, just so she doesn’t freak out when she shifts and is naked.  Considering the last thing she may remember is being hurt by two masked men, if she doesn’t completely wig out when she wakes up, then I’d be surprised.”
     
    He nodded, pulling a soft blanket from the bottom of the bed up around her.  Dante got in the shower and Mason stretched out carefully next to her, his hand resting on her paw for his own comfort as much as hers.
     
    He fell asleep as the night began to wane, and he dreamed he was sleeping down in the den for winter.  On the special pallet that they’d made a few years ago for sleeping as a group, covered in prepared soft hides and blankets, Alyssa was