"We should probably get some sleep," said Asanti. "We still have a lot of driving ahead of us if we wanna get from Salt Lake City to Stokerville by tomorrow afternoon."
"Shit..." Kibibi said softly to hirself. "It's actually happening. We arrive tomorrow."
"Is that bad, Kibs?" Kathy asked, still playing with Asanti's nipple piercings.
"Not really, Kathy," Kibibi shrugged uncertainly. "It's just... it's just a huge change for me, that's all. I've spent my whole life in Fort Hyde, Oklahoma. It's my home. Now I'm off to live in the Pacific Northwest for at least a year, probably longer. I'll miss the prairies."
"There's definitely good to the situation, though, Kibs," Asanti smiled encouragingly as shi playfully swatted Kathy's probing claws away from hir gold nipple rings.
"Yeah," Kibibi nodded. "I needed a change."
"What kind of change?" Kathy asked as she tried to sneak in another tweak at one of Asanti's nipple rings, prompting a swat and a laugh from the werehyena.
"I was having trouble finding my role in my sire's pack," Kibibi answered, stealing a tweak of hir own at Asanti's nipple piercings as shi talked. "I had technically plenty of status as the alpha's only cub and the best damn warrior in the pack, but I just couldn't find my niche. I was too young to be chosen as Lady of War or Mistress of the Hunt in a pack full of more established warriors and hunters in their twenties and thirties. Sire didn't much care for my advice either. Werelion prides are always trying to encroach on our pack's territory, you see, and I wanted Sire to take the fight to those bastards. Shi doesn't have much stomach for open warfare, though. After a while, I just began to feel unnecessary. I was muscle, nothing more. Maybe I can find my calling up in Washington."
"What do you wanna do?" asked Kathy.
"Honestly, I'd love to challenge Alpha Selena for leadership of hir pack and take it over," Kibibi chuckled. "I know I'm alpha material, and this Selena Lyall doesn't sound like the kind of alpha I can respect. For one thing, shi wasn't born a werehyena. Shi's a wolfborn human who got a witch to help hir turn into a werehyena and start a pack with transformed humans. Worse, I'm pretty sure shi's white. Who the fuck ever heard of a werehyena who wasn't black, Middle Eastern, or South Asian?!"
"Why does it matter if shi's white or black?" asked Kathy. "Or if shi was born a werehyena or not? What's the big deal?"
"Because shi doesn't understand our ways," Kibibi snorted. "Going by hir name, shi was a human raised by werewolves of Northwestern European ancestry. If I'm lucky, shi'll know the basics of pack organization and who Lady Moon is, but I don't expect more. Shi doesn't know our sacred songs, our tribal dances, not anything! I suspect Sire wants me to teach hir everything so shi can at least be a passable werehyena alpha. Ugh, it would be so much simpler just to take over!"
"Then why don't you?" asked Kathy, eyeing Kibibi's nude amazonian physique admiringly. "You easily look strong enough to squash any alpha you meet, and you don't strike me as the meek type."
"Normally, I would," Kibibi sighed, "but Sire made me promise to respect Alpha Selena and follow hir orders. I'm prepared to defy anyone except my sire. Shi expects me to behave... especially after I disappointed hir by castrating a rival in a fight right before leaving."
"Your kidding me!" Kathy gasped. The werecat's tabby fur stood on end as she shuddered, slightly terrified of the savage violence Kibibi was capable of... and also a bit aroused by hir ferocity and brute strength.
"Shi's not kidding, Kathy," said Asanti. "I was there. Poor Enzi, shi was so upset to lose hir balls."
"Sire was pretty upset hirself," Kibibi added. "That's why I've gotta be on my best behavior. I'll give Selena a year to see if shi can earn my respect. If not, I'll challenge hir then. That seem's fair, right?"
"I think so," said Asanti. "That's all that can be expected of any werebeast. Nobody could expect you to put up with a weak leader forever. It's just not our way."
"But what'll you do if you can't be an alpha, Kibs?" asked Kathy.
"There's still the other pack leadership positions," Kibibi shrugged. "Selena's new, growing pack'll mostly be made up of teenagers like hir. I'll actually have a shot at promotion in the foreseeable future. If I can't be alpha, I'd like to be the lady of war. That job seems like it'd match my skill set." Kibibi flexed hir titanic biceps to underscore the point, making the solid muscles ripple beneath hir black-and-gold fur. "I'm pretty Sure Alpha Selena could use a good Lady of War. Sire tells me that Selena isn't on good terms with hir parents' werewolf pack and that there's a troublesome werefox skulk camped near Stokerville."
"They'll move on the second they see you, babe," Asanti smiled as shi squeezed Kibibi's arm, feeling the firmness of the sinewy muscle beneath. "Werefoxes are cowards. They're so bold before they're caught, but those thieves and seducers go to pieces the second they're faced with a true warrior."
"We werecats are the same way," Kathy laughed, "but at least we admit it. We're survivors and scavengers, not warriors. There's no shame in that, and we don't feel the need to affect a ton of phony bravado or play idiot pranks on people to prove how 'daring' we are." The werecat girl looked Asanti's way. "Hey, what are you gonna do in Selena's pack, Asanti?"
"I think I'll focus on getting Selena and hir pack caught up on the myths and lore of werehyena culture," Asanti said with a smile. "I also wanna help the al-Dabu family get settled into their new home with Selena. Those poor werehyenas are thousands of miles from their home in Saudi Arabia, and all their packmates are dead. They must be having such a rough time!"
Kibibi squeezed hir mate's hand lovingly. "You're amazing, Asanti. All I ever seem to do is think about myself, but you've always got the good of the good of the pack at the front of your mind."
"You're good, too, Kibs," Asanti smiled. "You've just gotta learn to temper your passion with wisdom."
"What happened to the al-Dabu family's old pack?" Asha asked as she sat up in her bed, now fully awake.
"They were murdered by monster hunters who work for the King of Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabi clerics," Kibibi answered. "It was a brotherhood called al-Suyuf al-Khaliq, the Swords of the Creator. They targeted the al-Dabus' pack for being not only werebeasts but a community of non-binary lesbians."
Asha crossed her coffee-colored arms indignantly. "That's stupid."
"It is indeed, Asha," Asanti nodded grimly. "Stupid and bigoted. That's why it's our duty to help Isra and hir family find a place where they can belong. It's very important to support our fellow werebeasts in a world that can be cruel and hostile to them."
"On that note, thanks for taking me up to Stokerville, guys," Kathy smiled. "It sounds like the perfect place to build up my own werecat pride."
"Don't mention it," Asanti said. "You've been amazing company. Now we should all get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day."