Richard looked around as he slowly walked through an alleyway, his tail close to his legs. He did not want to look around, but he had to. It was empty, deserted. Nothing of significance was within sight, not even rubbish bins. It was clean and pristine. Even the smell was neutral.

Yet, to the hyena, this was that accursed alleyway. He couldn't help but be reminded of the things he saw a few months before. Blood, bodies, innards, all too disturbing to simply forget. He was used to violence and blood, but that… that was simply on another level which he wasn't sure he wanted to go to.

There was no clue here, unfortunately. The police had already swept this place clean, so clean until no one knew about what happened. He swore he saw a post or two circulating online about a cover-up that a massacre had taken place here, but it quickly faded into the background as it could neither be proven nor disproven. There were also some speculations that a new building would be built here, but he was glad it never came to fruition. He wasn't one to believe in ghosts, but even he felt apprehensive at the thought of building something on what essentially was a graveyard.

The spotted hyena took another glance at the empty alleyway, then walked away. Big Boss had appointed Signora Lucia to start looking for information about Red Wolf, and in turn, she had appointed him and a few others to start looking for it. If anything, he thought this was the start of another operation.

Why was Big Boss so keen on killing Red Wolf, anyway? Aside from that horrible failure that was Operation Red Wolf, he had never done anything too far. Sure, he evaded the mafia group and sometimes injured the members, but he never did anything too harmful.

Or so he thought. He remembered having been told by Rodrigo, rest his soul, that the bison was the sole survivor of whatever incident involving that wolf, which earned him the name Red Wolf.

Richard gave a quiet huff and walked away. It wasn't that he wasn't loyal to the operation—the initiation ceremony demanded him be—but sometimes, he wished that he had a regular job doing regular work earning a regular salary instead. Yes, it was thrilling and all to work for a mafia group, not to mention they pretty much gave him the reason to live, but over time the thrill wore off as doubt began to seep in.

Okay, now back to his job. Trying to get to the police was Lucia's task, so he shouldn't worry about that. What made him worry was that it had been a few months. Red Wolf surely would have left the city and decided to never come back here.

Richard groaned as he walked. For someone who was really hated by Big Boss, Red Wolf surely was a hard catch. If only he just spared someone, he might not be so hard to track. That cloth piece they had found before Operation Red Wolf contributed nothing to tracking him. His boss, Pacal, helped him with that, so he was glad.

He walked towards a pub, a bit far from that alleyway. In the days and weeks following that, in said pub news had been circulating that they heard people screaming and shouting and gunshots there. However, as that alleyway was isolated from the road and they heard those things in the night, no one dared—or bothered—to check. Hallstead itself was known as the grey district of Barrowisle; everyone sort of expected some questionable things to happen here. Despite being quite close to the Ancient Town across the train tracks, this district was with the most flaws within Barrowisle.

Although, to be honest, considering just how safe Barrowisle was in general and his experience in other cities like Hampstertown and Rothgar-over-Ayne, Hallstead district was not that bad. It felt tame, even.

The two guards on the door didn't seem to notice him, but he still nodded at them as he went past them easily. They already knew him anyway, as this was the place where he usually met one of his informants.

Speaking of informants,

“Thou'rt late." A deep brown lion said to him as he approached a table. To everyone, this lion might not be noticeable at all due to the dark-coloured jacket he was wearing, but Richard always noticed the asymmetrical cuts on his ears.

The hyena sat down in front of him, a drink already in front of him. “I was on that alleyway, Grant." He drank the ale and wiped his mouth.

Grant grunted, eyeing him warily.

“It's like you miss me." Richard joked.

The lion huffed and gulped down his own ale. “I have other, more pressing things to do than babysitting a 'yena who sticks his nose in steads it belongs not."

“Excuse me for doing my own thing, then." The hyena lowered his voice. “So, you have any clue about Red Wolf?"

“Quick to get down to business, eh?" Looking around, Grant leant forward on the table. Richard wanted to snark back at him but he knew when Grant leant closer, he meant business. “Erst, why sint ye so curious over this Red Wolf anyway?"

“None of your business."

“It is my business to know, eh."

Well, he was technically right. “Long story. In short we're looking for him for debts."

“Debts." The lion rolled his eyes. “I've got a hard time believing 'at when this wolf fellow is as slick as an eel."

Grant himself found Red Wolf outside his radar, he noted. “Basically." The hyena shrugged. This Red Wolf was then even more cunning in avoiding attention.

“'Tis hard to track 'im down when thou know neither his name, face, nor anything at all."

“I did tell you he's a student at University of Barrowisle." 

“As if that 'elps." The lion snorted. “I've sorted through 1.273 wolves in that uni as per last year. Found 257 wolves with red fur with varying backgrounds."

“Anything you found suspicious?"

“'Ardly. Seven were caught to have been involved in some sort of shady business, but they served their sentence." The lion drank his ale. “Found another who has some links to the government, but this one was out of the city on that day."

Richard furrowed his brows. Grant was amongst the most reliable informants in Barrowisle, so this might be harder than he previously thought. “Hmm."

“Thou reckon Red Wolf isn't a nickname or something?"

“It is a nickname." He gulped his ale. “Pretty descriptive I think, but still a nickname."

“Ye gits can't even tell someone by their name?"

“No one knows his name, for your information." Richard eyed the lion with narrowed eyes. “He was the only wolf when he joined the operation in Køpmanshavn, so everyone just called him 'the wolf'. Eventually they even forgot his name."

“Not even a clue or something? Also, fuck thee, thy South Icelandic is fuckin 'orrible."

“Fuck you too. And no, in this city, those who knew him were either dead or in prison."

“Damn, that's tough." The lion huffed and leant back on the wall, crossing his arms.

“Speaking of, what do you know about that night's incident?"

“Not much. I wasn't in the city when it happened. I heard some rumours about survivors, though."

At that, his ears perked up. He looked at the lion dead straight. “Explain."

Grant shrugged and leant closer. “I can't verify this as no one was there, but I heard rumours about a… bovine or canine, I wasn't sure, who was seen limping with blood all over his body some distance away from there. Not exactly on the site, but I think that's enough of a clue."

“What did this survivor look like?"

“A bit on the tall side, I heard. About the same size as thee. He was seen walking away with a trail of blood behind him."

Trail of blood… “And you know if the police knew about this?"

“Probably not. There was rain later in the night. Pretty sure it erased the blood trail."

Right. Damn, he really hated coincidences like that.

“Also heard that an ambulance came that night. Not sure where, but someone heard sirens near the vicinity."

So, there was a survivor! They weren't all that clueless, then. They couldn't compile data about whose bodies were found there as it was a pretty big case for the police to handle. They still had no access to the upper echelons of the police, sadly, and the police did not share very sensitive information with their lower ranks. All that they knew was they could only identify 10 persons intact—or halfway intact—while the rest had been… beyond recognition.

If anything, he should wonder why a case this big was not broadcast to the media. This was not a simple murder; this was straight up a massacre. The public would be shocked to know; heck, the entire country would be shocked to know. Was there another side to Barrowisle that he did not know?

Well, reputation handling was one heck of a reason.

“Just a few hours after that, we received info that the police came." Richard shuddered a bit. “No one knew who called them. No one knew why they kept it a secret."

“Been wondering over the same thing, mate. I thought ye had access to the police?" The lion sipped his ale.

“Lower ranks. This case is big, they don't know much about it. They already told us what they knew."

“Including the blood trail?"

“They didn't find any."

“Curious." Grant said, straightening up and looking around while moving his ears around. Richard did the same and watched Grant intently. The lion didn't say anything, though, then continued. “A blood trail would not simply disappear, but then again it rained later that night."

Richard gulped his ale empty and wiped his mouth. What should he do next? He was out of leads for now. The hyena leant back on his seat and looked at the lion. “Do you have anything else to tell?"

“No. That's all I have as of now."

Nodding, the hyena took an envelope from his pocket and gave it to the lion. “The usual. Tell me if you have any other information."

Grant took the envelope and pocketed it with a grin. “Pleasure doing business with you."

“You have anything to do after this?"

The lion gulped his drink. “Probably looking for more candy for a certain 'yena."

Richard narrowed his eyes.

“I don't think thou'rt up for some drinks?"

“Strong words from someone who gets offended as easily as the lions crossing the river."

The lion laughed. “That's one 'eck of a reference, yeen. Now thou can go."

Shaking his head, the hyena just stood up and put a one-euro coin on the table for his drink. He gave the lion another quick glance, then headed out. Grant had a pretty questionable taste of humour, befitting his scary look.

He exited the pub and looked around. It looked like his job today was done now with the sun setting. Big Boss didn't give them any time limit for this because he wanted to make sure they had all the information they could have before they planned anything. For him, that was more than welcome.

Free from his job for now, the hyena got on the tram at a tram stop and went home.

Max put the bowl down and wiped his muzzle, groaning in delight. The noodle was really tasty, if a bit too spicy for his taste. “Fuck, that was delicious! Gotta say, you know noodles, Tom."

Next to him, Tom huffed in delight and put his own bowl down, letting out a quiet burp.

Living with Tom was actually very nice. After six months of living with the wolf, he learnt so much about the wolf. Tom was strict with his expenses, for instance, in the sense that he only bought what he thought was necessary. He didn't usually splurge, and in turn that made Max aware of his own expenses.

“We're gonna get to Elysium Mall next week, okay?"

“Deal." Max grinned.

When the wolf finished a tough week at work or a writer's block, he rewarded himself with a nice meal or new clothing. That was something Max ought to replicate. Tom said it helped him remember that one had to work hard to get rewards and that some things must be done sparingly to keep it special. There was, however, one thing he did not ought to do.

“Damn, I'm gonna get fat if you buy that every day." Max laughed and put his legs on the coffee table, rubbing his stomach as he leant back on the sofa. He reached for the remote and changed the television channel.

Tom drank from the glass of water. “More floof then."

They laughed.

The wolf really had a taste in noodles. Every time they went to a grocery store, they would spend at least fifteen minutes just in the noodle aisle. Tom liked them so much he made it his personal mission to taste every flavour of instant noodles sold.

Max couldn't blame him, though. He himself spent a lot of time in the clothes and shoe section. Tom wasn't really interested in clothing or footwear. He was fine with anything that he could wear, while to Max, they were something absolutely important. He had to appear fashionable lest he lose his charm.

Weirdly, for someone who didn't pay much attention to clothing, Tom's style was quite good. He didn't like clothes that were brightly coloured or had complex patterns, instead preferring simple ones with relatively muted colours that fit his fur quite well. Those suited him perfectly.

The dog scratched his stomach. When he noticed Tom was staring at his naked upper body, he grinned and held his breath to make his abs look more defined. He smiled seductively at the wolf, running his hand over his chest and abs. “Mmm."

Tom looked at him, then turned away in embarrassment and took the empty bowls and glasses away, walking towards the kitchen. Max just laughed. “Don't fap in the kitchen!"

“Tot!"

He laughed and continued watching the television.

Now that Tom was back to his normal self, Max could tease him all he wanted. He really admired the wolf's restraint; Tom could just jump at him and do dirty things, but he never did that. Max teased him almost all the time even when he didn't realise it, yet Tom was still the personification of resilience.

Somehow, Max felt glad about that. Tom was taking it extra slow with him and he in turn was feeling more and more comfortable doing more and more intimate things with the wolf. He could just be himself—sometimes be topless in the flat, forget to have showers after work, even sleep naked sometimes—and he could just think of Tom as a very, very special roommate he also slept with.

He chuckled a bit as he remembered what happened last night. They were “busy" last night, and although they hadn't done some penetration yet, he could say he was looking forward to it. Tom taught him how to clean his arse, and despite how flustered had he been, he couldn't deny it felt… rather good.

Now it was a part of his personal hygienic routine, just without putting his finger inside.

His phone beeped and he looked at it. There was a new text, and when he looked at the sender's name, the German Shepherd huffed and put it back down. Tomorrow was Saturday, and he was looking forward to having a nice gym session with Tom. He missed the gym, and apparently being the wolf's personal trainer was kind of good. They could only go to the gym when they only had light days at work, and only at night. If not, they only had Saturdays and Sundays to go to the gym.

Oh yeah, speaking of the gym, apparently Tom could be even stricter than him when it came to food. Max had a special diet to maintain his muscles, but it wasn't as strict as when he was in high school and early university. As the semester progressed, he relaxed his diet as long as he ate and worked out responsibly. Nowadays, he kept his diet to an adequate level for his muscles.

Tom, meanwhile, limited his intake. Max almost regretted having taught him about that, but well, his muscles really were starting to bulk up and the wolf always looked healthy. It wasn't that he weighed his food to the milligrams, but he kept a quota on the things he ate. For example, he only ate up to 24 doughnuts a week, or he only ate one chicken egg a day. Only up to two pizzas were allowed a week.

Max shook his head fondly. It reminded him of the time he first started to become serious to bulk up. His brother taught him, and now it was his turn to teach it to Tom.

“Anyway, mate, it's Saturday tomorrow." The wolf sat down next to him, waking him up from his thoughts. “Want to go to the park?"

“What for?"

“Ya, having a picnic or just seeing the flowers and stuff."

“Why do I need to go to the park when I got my flower right here?" He said with a toothy smile.

Tom chuckled embarrassedly. “Good. Don't deflower me."

“I thought you deflowered me first?"

“I was still a virgin until you decided to jump on me."

“Bye-bye, virginity. Now you're as dirty as me, and you bet your fluffy ass I'm not done making you dirty."

They laughed.

“I thought I was the one who made you dirty?"

“Doesn't matter. As long as we need to wash the covers every day, we're still dirty."

“Nice of you to finally admit you have wet dreams every day." Tom elbowed him.

“You keep making me wet ughghghgh." Max elbowed him back with another grin.

The wolf laughed, then stopped abruptly and furrowed his brows. “Was that a straight joke I was supposed to understand?"

“Well…" Max shrugged. “You know pussies get wet when women get horny, right? You made me horny, so yeah."

“They get wet?!"

“Did you miss Intro to Biology?"

“Maybe." The wolf scratched his ear. “Wait, you said I get you wet, so that means you're horny?"

“That's the joke."

“Oh, right, right."

“Besides…" He leant closer and pulled the wolf closer so that he was in his arm. “Can't wait till we put our dicks in each other's ass." He nibbled the wolf's ear, his tail wagging.

Tom giggled, his tail wagging along with him. “Who's the gay one around here, sih?"

“Hey, don't act like you didn't make me dirty!" Max booped him, sounding playfully offended.

“Really, I have to be fucked by someone who's one and a half times my size, muscled like hell, just like a walking god. That's a heavy responsibility."

“Nice, you made me hard."

They looked down.

“Go touch it. It wants you."

Tom reached out and carefully groped Max's crotch under his pants. Max just let him, amused. “It's still soft." He pulled away.

“That's the joke."

“Oh, come on!" Tom pulled away from his hold.

The dog just grinned. “Hey, wanna get some sausages?"

“Sure, why not?"

When Tom turned to him, Max made a gesture of making a circle with one hand and putting a finger inside it. The wolf's expression fell, but then he grinned back. “Didn't know you want my sausage that bad."

“I was asking if you wanted mine!"

“Uh-huh. Right." The wolf shrugged.

The dog laughed and put his legs on the wolf's lap. Absent-mindedly, Tom started to give them a massage… that or the wolf was groping his legs.

Eh, both worked anyway.

“I've been thinking about buying bicycles." The wolf absent-mindedly said. “Public transport is good, but I can't really get on them after grocery shopping."

“You can use online bikes, y'know."

“Yeah, but having one is much more convenient."

Max shrugged. “I guess. I'm all for it if you want."

“I'm gonna look it up later then." Tom gave a relaxed sigh, then his fingers touched Max's foot claws. “Also, shouldn't you trim your foot claws today?"

“Will do that tomorrow."

“Lazy wanker. Stay here, I'll get the clips." Tom stood up and walked towards the bedroom. “And the brush. Your fur is falling out. Do me after this."

Max rolled his eyes in amusement. “That sounds so horny but okay."

“Fuck's sake, Max!"