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Chapter Three of a Furry Speculative Fiction Novel that takes place in a hypothetical universe where Germany won World War One. The marginally victorious Central Powers have annexed Central Serbia, but not without complications ...

**_Ein Wolf in der Falz

Chapter III - The Third Way_**

**_March 5th, 1925

Outskirts of Occupied Belgrade_**

Through the slanted view ports in the front of the armored vehicle, Konrad couldn't see very much. Maybe thirty degree slices here and there. Just enough to drive by, but not enough to see what passed on either side of him. Pools of water and culverts of mud dotted the forested road ahead, but the experimental rubber and steel caterpillar treads on his vehicle made the bumps and jolts feel more like a ship riding the gentle swells of the ocean.

A land ship perhaps.

"Fahrer! Fahr den nächsten huegel hinauf!" His commander sitting up and behind him had to yell just to be heard over the whine of the overstressed, underpowered gasoline engine. Konrad steered the kampfwagen up the slippery hill with a grind of gears and roar of the engine. He felt the taxed transmission slip some, gritted his fangs as the heavy treads wore the vehicle down to a sluggish crawl, even in lowest gear.

The wolf's ass and tail grew numb from the constant vibration under his hard seat. Gas fumes gave him a headache. His back ached from sitting in such a cramp position for over an hour, jarred constantly from the vehicle's lackluster suspension. Still, Konrad knew it would be foolish to send out a regular armored car out in all this mud. Here on patrol in the spring, the Balkan forests turned into mires with the slightest shower.

When the Austria-Hungry army stalled on their initial push into Serbia during the Great War they managed to occupy Belgrade, but little else. An begrudging truce followed soon after in 1918. Now the Triple Crown of the Germany-Austria-Hungry Empire found a new threat waiting for them.

Their convoys became easy pickings for Serbian rebels looking to disrupt patrols and supply lines into and out of Belgrade. Konrad and his crew hadn't seen anything this past week, but one of their other gun wagons came under fire just yesterday in this vicinity. As if on cue, rifle fire rang out as they neared the top of the hill, bouncing off their thin 5mm steel plate armor.

"Nach links nach links, aus die Straße!" The commander screamed. The gunner tried to bring the Maschinengewehr 34 to bear, but reached the limit of his firing arc in the fixed mount next to the commander as Konrad turned the sluggish tracked vehicle.

"Lenken sie sich der feind entgegen, nicht weg! Du hast meinen feuerkries geschneidet!" the other wolf yelled down to Konrad.

Another crew member tried firing at the unseen ambushers through a side gun port, but in the cramp confines of the stationary turret, the butt of fox's rifle jabbed into the gunner's ribs. The commander continued to shout orders inside the chaotic vehicle, and Konard jammed both steering controls forward, feeling the transmission strain with a growl. There just wasn't enough torque to get the vehicle moving fast enough, and it stalled on an slanted incline. The treaded tracks ground away at the slick mud, but the hybrid vehicle just sat there.

"Der Antrieb hat nicht genug Drehkraft!" Konrad yelled back to his commander as more plings bounced off their armor.

"Von hier! jetzt!" The badger yelled back, hazel eyes bulging. Something within the vehicle gave a sick screech of tortured metal, and the engine revved hard. Smoke poured from the gearbox behind them, choking them all in the crowded crew compartment.

"Die Getreibe ist kaputt!" Konrad kicked at the shift stick, yelling back to his commander. The crew member taking pot shots out the side gun port suddenly screamed out as something bounced off the side of the vehicle with a dull 'plung'.

"Granate!" The fox fell back against the other side of the crew compartment as the grenade exploded and rocked the reconnaissance vehicle. Jagged shrapnel tore into their armor, some finding their way through the slitted gun port to pelt the gunner. He slipped down from the machine gun with wide eyes, blood running freely down the side of his uniform now. A small lick of flame appeared on the engine block behind them.

The concussion of the blast knocked Konrad senseless for a few moments, and in his daze, the wolf tasted blood on his muzzle lips. The next thing he knew the badger screamed orders to abandon the vehicle. Konrad's commander opened the hatch above them and got halfway out before a bullet caught the badger between the eyes. Konrad watched the hind legs dangling down jerk, then still. Small drips of blood fell from the hatchway to land on the fox's gray muzzle. His friend, Franz, blinked up in shell shock and refused to move.

"Raus! oder beide von uns sind Tot!" Konrad snarled, shoving the vulpine to the side. He pushed his dead commander up out the hatch even as more gunshots rang out. He used the corpse as cover and pushed his friend up through the exit. The wolf followed quickly after, rolling off the far side of the vehicle even as bullets plinged off the cover of steel plated armor. Konrad helped Franz up out of the mud and dashed for the tree line, small splatters of mud kicking up beside them as their unseen assailants took random shots at them.

The gasoline fueled vehicle behind them exploded into a ball of flame and pitted steel with a dull roar. Its concussion knocked them both forward back down into the mud. In the mire, the wolf rolled the dazed fox over on his back, checking to make sure he was all right before hauling him back up and dragging him behind a tree. Konrad braved a quick peek back to the flaming wreckage of gun metal gray and rolling orange before leading Franz by the paw back to their base camp.

After a long hour of trudging through the thick woods in the damp evening fog, the fox broke down and sobbed, kneeling in the mud. Konrad stopped to console his comrade and helped him up, offering gentle reassurances, but stiffened when the fox wrapped his arms around him. The vupline's lungs squeaked with tight hitches. All the wolf could do was hold his brother in arms, feeling the stress of battle break the smaller canid. For some reason he thought of William, and for the hundredth time that day, missed him.

Konrad wiped away Franz's tears and smiled, offering to smuggle the fox some lager if he could just make it back. The fox gave a weak smile and nodded. But it was a warmer smile than Konrad expected. Before the soldier could lean forward and press his muzzle lips into his brother's own, Konrad grasped his paw and continued on. The wolf tried to shake the uncomfortable moment, even as the fox's furry digits interlaced between his.

Its just his nerves. Konrad thought to himself. He's in shell shock. The wolf continued to list off excuses for his comrade all the way back to base through ever deepening fog. Still, his heart thundered. Again, he missed William.

_**March 7th, 1925

Arlberg Orient Express**_

As the locomotive gave its shrill scream of steam, the passenger car swayed gently on its rails. William's paw pressed up against the side of the stateroom next to him in order to steady himself. Other passengers filed past him in the hallway on their way back to their rooms from the dinning car. The setting orange sun outside cast long shadows inside the car. The coyote waited for the next counter sway before moving on, smoothing out his suit from those pushing past him.

A nervous paw played with the message card in his coat pocket, sent on board the train from an unexpected acquaintance. Goosebumps sprang up under his fur, bristling his black and gray coat. He didn't know why he got this way around the older feline, but a smile split his muzzle all the same when he spied the cougar standing behind the next train car door, waiting for him. William stepped between the disjointed space between the cars, adjusting his step to compensate for the differing sway of the dinning car. Drake offered his paw, but didn't seem all that surprised when the younger canid greeted him with a firm hug instead.

"Will! It is so good to see you again." The yellow cougar rumbled, smiling with exposed fangs. The cracked lines and weathered wrinkles of his muzzle crinkled at the expression. His steadied himself against his ebony walking cane even as his paw rubbed the coyote's back. William sighed lightly at the feeling, closing his eyes.

"What are you doing doing here?" William asked before finally letting go and stepping back. The cougar still wore his gray business suit and black armband. It made the coyote wonder if the cougar ever took his clothes off. He gave a sudden blush at the odd thought, although Drake didn't seem to notice.

"I'm on my way to Belgrade with a business partner, and thought you might like some company."

"Sure ... but how did you know ..." William trailed off as a horse already sitting at a dinning booth waved them over.

"I always make it a habit to know who I travel with." Drake mumbled under his breath as he led the coyote through the crowded car to the booth. He introduced the two after seating themselves. "William, this is a good business partner of mine, Walter Christie." He paused with a sticky smirk. "Walter, you will be interested to know that William is a mechanical engineer." The American equine gave an appraising look to the thin, young coyote.

"Oh is that so?" Walter inquired while the three ordered drinks, "Where did you obtain your degree?"

"Technische Universität Wien." The coyote beamed with a measure of satisfaction. While young and lacking real world experience, William knew he lived in the center of invention and production for the whole of Europe. It was only a matter of time before he found an industrial outfit looking to hire him on. Once that happened he could bring back Konrad from Belgrade, to somewhere safer and more accepting of their union. Berlin perhaps.

"That is rather fortunate." The older equine, somewhere in his sixties, adjusted his leather racing jacket. His flat, broad nose gave a light snort as he turned to look over at Drake, drumming his hoove tips into the table while waiting for his whiskey.

"Is that ... a problem?" William asked, feeling a cold sweat break over him. He had forgotten how brash Americans could be. The coyote wondered if he had been like that when he first met Konrad on the Lusitania.

"Not at all," Drake laughed the tense moment away. "Walter just has no time with obtuse social niceties. You could say he has a need for speed. It slows him down." William looked at the way the horse's hoove tips continued to drum into the finish of the wooden table.

"So, are you a ... ?" Walter answered before William could finish his question.

"Racer, inventor, and a guy ahead of his time." Walter snatched up the shot of whiskey placed before him and he downed it in time to order another. He ordered some burgers for the three of them, the complacent coyote not objecting. "Did you know I came up with a direct transfer system for front wheeled drive?"

"Really?" A long line of drive train schematics whizzed through William's keen mind.

"Absolutely! It offered better steering and more off road control than conventional rear wheel drive systems. But can you believe it? No one bought it!" Walter leaned back into his booth, before raking his hoove nails against the chestnut coat of his neck. "Not even the U.S. Military. I would have thought they would have jumped on that considering all the action they saw down near the Texan border during that Second Mexican War. Pretty rough terrain there."

"And that is exactly why we are on our way to Belgrade, is that not?" Drake smiled, offering to fill in the gaps he knew the coyote groped for.

"Damn right!" Walter nodded. "If they balked at that, I doubt they are going to go for the future of mounted cavalry."

"What's that?" William bit, more than just a little curious.

"Mechanized cavalry son!" He nodded at the revolutionary idea. "You know how hard it is to strap a machine gun to the back of a horse?" William shot Drake an unsure look. Most equines didn't like to talk about mounted cavalry.

It was kind of an uncomfortable subject for them.

"Think about it. Mechanized vehicles with automatic weapons racing past the flanks of an enemy force, swinging into their rear to disrupt and harass supply, communication, and reinforcements? That is where the future of ground warfare will be fought and won!" The coyote nodded, not quite grasping how Walter came to understand West Point tactics.

"That's ... really interesting." William fumbled, trying to catch up to Walter's train of thought.

"What is the greatest limitation of wheeled vehicles?" Walter pointed to the coyote. William shrugged, not really wanting to disrupt the ranting, obviously enthusiastic equine. William could see how Walter might rub stoic generals the wrong way. "They need roads in order to drive. Makes them useless on a muddy battlefield. The world found that little nugget out when Germany overran France ten years ago back in the Great War."

"Tell William about your innovation." Drake smiled, lacing his slightly extended claws between each other. William could tell the war profiteer had the unappreciated inventor in his pocketbook.

"Now, continuous tracked vehicles spread their weight over a greater area, providing superior off road handling, but their fixed suspension system makes them slower than molasses in January." Walter went on, only stopping for a moment to take a bite out of one of the hamburgers placed before them. William continued to gawk at the usual spectacle of a horse chewing red meat.

"I have here ..." Walter pulled out a small schematic from his leather jacket's inside pocket and unfolded it out on the table. "... plans for an independent tracked suspension system, able to increase off road tracked vehicle speeds comparable to on road wheeled vehicles."

William spun the creased blueprint around and examined the mechanical design by the dim light of the dining car. Walter was right, at least in theory. The coyote tapped a claw on part of the outline.

"Well, the bell crank design does offer significant mechanical advantage in a limited space. But aren't you losing the space and weight reclaimed with this hybrid drive design?" William pointed to the convertible wheeled / tracked proposal.

"That's the beauty of the conversion. There is no need to tear up the treads on long distance road transport." Walter continued to tear into his hamburger. William leaned back into his booth and let the gentle sway of the train placate him. He started into his burger, anything to occupy his muzzle. The spirited coyote really didn't want to argue over the innovator's own design. It would be rude.

"And you're sure that the Empire will accept such a radical design?" William asked between bites. Drake exposed more of his fangs between his interlaced claws.

"It's either that or I sell the plans to the Red Army." Walter downed the next shot of whiskey without missing a beat.

"As you can see, Will, Walter knows how to drive a hard bargain." Drake's claws retracted and he picked at the hamburger before him. For a moment he seemed unsure if he should cut it up with the silverware on the table. He ended up setting it down and whipping the dripping grease off his paw tips with a napkin.

"As long as you can get me to the bargaining table in one piece, Whiskers." The abrasive and vocal equine gave a soft belch into the back of his hoove hand, the alcohol and grease already churning in his gut. William gave a questioning look to Drake, who laughed lightly.

"Inside joke I'm afraid Will. He referring to a time I accompanied Rudolf Diesel on a business trip to Antwerp some years back. It seems that some of Nikolaus Otto's business associates felt the need to throw him overboard in a bad prank. I just happened to be around to toss him a lifebuoy." Drake ended up dismantling his food and then slicing up the sandwich piecemeal. William nodded at the mention of the two influential German inventors. Sometimes the competition for fame and money could get quite cut throat.

"So. What is Diesel up to now a days then?" William chewed some more, feinting an unconcerned curiosity. Deep down, however, he felt constantly nagged by the notion that Drake always found himself at the right place, the right time.

"Oh, he's still perfecting his engines for me. Lighter. Smaller. Faster." Drake failed to hide a thin smile, a gleam of untouched potential shining in those predator eyes.

"I see. And who are you selling them to? The British or the Germans?"

"Both." Drake dropped a slice of ground up meat into his muzzle at the end of his fork with a voracious grin. "Just not the new Soviet Union."

"God bless the Reds!" A wide grin spread across Walter's long face. "Without them, who would the boys back home lose sleep over? China?" William shot the eccentric equine an odd look before Walter excused himself. "We'll boys, its been a gas, but I'm going to go see a guy about a dog." He laid some scratch down on the table for the food and drinks. The horse got up to head to the bar, leaving Drake and William to sit in silence at his abrupt leave.

"Well, he certainly is a character." William exhaled then took a swig of his drink. Drake continued to cut apart his hamburger and take small bites.

"Most certainly." Drake agreed. He took another forkful and dropped it into his muzzle delicately. "But there is a lot of opportunity for innovators like him in this Brave New World." The cougar put down his fork and sipped some of his red wine. "Tell me Will, have you found work yet?"

The coyote shook his head.

"I really haven't applied anywhere yet. I'm still looking into some of the factories back in Germany. I hear ThyssenKrupp is hiring for their turbo-supercharger diesel design team in Düsseldorf." William shrugged, and Drake nodded back.

"Will Konrad be coming back with you?" There was an uncomfortable pause. The clickety clack of the train's wheels under them filled the silence.

"I don't know." William's black tipped ears splayed. The cougar laced his paw tips again.

"Problems on the home front?" Drake inquired.

"No. Not really. I mean ..." The coyote licked his dry muzzle lips. "... its not that ... damn it." William rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"You can tell me, Will." The older cougar assured in confidence. "It's okay." He reached over to rub the coyote's other paw laying on the dinner booth table between them. William suppressed a soft gasp and blinked up at Drake. After a moment, he squeezed the cougar's paw and with some marked hesitation, withdrew it.

"I just ... don't get to see Konrad all that much. At first it was the commute. I wouldn't see him at months at a time. But now, its like he's growing distant." The coyote's green eyes dropped to the table, then flicked out the window to the dusk touched countryside rushing past them. He tried not to let the thought put tears into his eyes. "It's like the military has changed him."

"It can. It affects everyone differently." Drake closed his weary amber eyes and allowed himself a soft sight. "I remember how it affected Shane, my first lover." The coyote's ears perked and he turned back to the reminiscing cougar.

"You ... and him?" William asked, skirting the obvious implication about the war profiteer.

"Oh, yes." Drake smiled, putting his interlaced paws under his furry chin. "Hard to believe, isn't it? That someone as old as me would find such a love in a Polish foxhole."

"What ... ?" William blinked, not understanding either the slang nor the place. Drake shook his head, realizing his spoke of a different time that no longer existed.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Drake waved a dismissive paw. "Suffice to say Shane was never the same after the Russian shells bombarded us. The field medics took him off on stretcher, even though he didn't bear a single wound." The cougar patted his right leg. "I wasn't as lucky." William ran a paw tip along the rim of his glass, thinking to himself.

"I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't complain about ..."

"No no my boy!" Drake dismissed the insecure yote's apology. "I just simply understand where you are coming from ... that's all ..."

They listened to the train's wheels bang under them when they rolled across a slight disjunction in the track, interrupting the almost hypnotic, steady clickety clack rhythm. William continued to play with his half empty glass. The remains of his meal sat half eaten on his plate, now cold.

"Have you considered joining the Empire as a military engineer?" Drake offered, breaking William's contemplative silence.

"I don't have the build for being a Pioniere." William sighed. It seemed like the continuing issue had wore on the coyote throughout his life. Drake could tell William wanted to be there on the front lines besides Konard, shoulder to shoulder. The wolf still was not aware of the coyotes subversive, yet competitive streak. Drake found it odd, given that the two had been mates now for almost ten years.

"No, William. I mean as an designer of military weapons?" The coyote shot the cougar a questioning look.

"I ... don't know?" William's ears flicked back and forth. Drake leaned back into the booth, the deepening shadows giving his features a sinister appearance. The coyote's heart skipped some.

"Would you consider working for me?" The cougar rumbled with compelling, mature eyes. He could tell the way the younger coyote looked at him that Drake already had William in his snare. "You would work alongside Walter, as well as several other innovators in their respected fields. You could change the world ...."

Drake's words rang with sincerity, but at the same time, they trailed away with dark ambiguity.

"I'll have to talk it over with Konrad first. I'm going to ask him to come back to Berlin with me. Once he's done with his current tour." William's black tipped ears flickered. "Its due to be over sometime this month." Drake claws extended, and he raked them across the table in the dim light.

"Well, its something to consider. I would compensate you well." The cougars claws snatched a clean napkin and he wiped his chin. "And since our design team needs to examine real time application of our prototypes, we will be stationed near Serbian borders." He smiled at William before slipping out of the booth. Drake had an awkward time with his cane and grunted lightly as the older feline stood up. "If Konrad chose to stay on the Belgrade patrol, you wouldn't be more than thirty minutes away from each other."

William noticed how Drake didn't turn to tell that last part directly to him. Instead his wrinkled paw snaked about for the last of the red wine before downing it.

"Well, if you change your mind, just talk to my project leader, Walter." Drake fished about his jacket for a business card before dropping it onto the table. A light rock of the car made him lean a bit more on his cane, but he still didn't turn to address the yote. He left abruptly, and William's ears drooped at the sudden departure.

"Goodbye, Will."

The dinning car was near empty now, and William couldn't shake the same feeling seeping into the pit of his stomach. Under the gentle sway of the hanging light above, he watched the stamped letters of the business card grow long then short shadows. After a while his claws groped for the card and he sat for a few more minutes, pondering ...

**_March 8th, 1925

Outskirts of Occupied Belgrade_**

The last person Konrad expected to see in the empty, darkened barracks was William.

The wolf almost forgot to close the door behind him he was so stunned. Between the empty bunks and rows of neatly organized trunks around them, the fine, slim coyote sitting at the card table looked out of place in the grim military setting. William sat next to the room's only lit lantern, scribbling at some piece of draft paper with a stubby, well used pencil. The scratch of its lead seemed creepy in the absolute silence of the desolate barracks.

With the majority of his platoon out on a night patrol, and the rest unloading a supply truck, that left only a few command staff and non-vital personnel on base. If the makeshift collection of tents and tin roofs dotting a clearing next to a wooded hillside could be called a base anyway. As rebel strikes intensified in recent months, command wanted more mobile setups like this one to react faster in the face of a growing insurgency.

With most of his squad wiped on his last patrol, command decided to keep Konard on light duty as a precaution. His friend Franz still remained under light sedation most of the time back in the infirmary. The rest of the platoon wondered why the wolf made it a point not to visit his squad mate. They had been up to that point, pretty close.

In truth the wolf felt ashamed of the fox.

"William ... what are you doing here?" Konrad stammered before stepping behind William. He hugged the seated coyote from behind and looked over William's shoulder to what the yote worked on. William seemed preoccupied with the sketch on the table, jotted down from memory. He reached over his shoulder to squeeze the wolf's arm.

"What? I asked the quarter master on duty. He said it was okay to come in as long as I didn't get in the way of unloading the supply truck."

"William, you really shouldn't be here. Civilians shouldn't be in the barracks without escort."

The strong wolf kept his paws on the coyote's thin shoulders anyway, rubbing his mate's shoulders. It had been way too long. It was good to see him after what ... three months now? The coyote churred softly and nuzzled one of the black paws, but he still paid more attention to the blue paper rolled out before him.

"Why? It's not like there is a war going on. Lighten up a little." William erased a drawn curl then re-sketched part of the break down. Konrad peered closer down at the diagram.

"What's that?"

"Oh nothing really."

"That looks like ... some type of suspension."

"Yeah. I'm just toying with an idea I saw earlier." William tapped the pencil point next to the curl. He stenciled in a hexagonal bar between the curl and its sprocketed wheel, joining the two with a load bearing lever.

"What the hell is that?" Konrad's claw dropped down to trace the tracked drive before tapping at the bar.

"Its a torsion bar. It's not very durable though. Any constant twist eventually cracks the bar."

"Depending on length, thickness, and material." The wolven mechanic nodded. "That would be a bitch to replace every so often. Especially if the assembly sat near treads."

"I'm toying with the idea of making a hybrid suspension. One that uses a smooth rod like this as for load bearing, an inverted U-brace to prevent sway, but has a horizontal coil spring at the connector to buffer torsion."

Konrad leaned back and straightened with a nod of clueless agreement. He knew the coyote was smart, but unless it came to practical applications of mechanics, theoretical design went beyond the wolf. The outer door swung open without warning, and Konrad's platoon commander, Oberleutnant Gottschalk, stepped through.

The schäferhund peered around the empty barracks, his black muzzle stern, his black tipped ears perked at the two other canids near the table. The lantern's glow touched off a fire in his black and tan coat, at least the parts not concealed by his bleak officer's uniform. The Shepard dog unbuttoned a black lapel and took off his black leather gloves, one paw tip at a time.

"Gefreiter Wagner, was tut dieser Bürger hier in den Baracken?" The first lieutenant asked with condescending inflection. His strict eyes narrowed at the two, noticing Konrad's paws still lingered on William's shoulders. Konrad withdrew them and stood at attention before answering his superior officer. William bit his lip and twisted around in his chair. He didn't know whether to stand or stay seated, but instead listened in, translating in his mind.

"I'm sorry lieutenant! I was just telling him he should report to you instead of the quartermaster next time. It wont happen again!" Konrad remained at attention while the taller dog walked up to inspect the shorter wolf. The schäferhund's breed, recently introduced, caused a slight amount of contention for some in the Empire.

Some German wolves mocked that it was much akin to breeding the very best of diluted mutts together.

"Who is he?" Gottschalk asked, stepping up to button one of the pockets on Konard's uniform like a fussing mother.

"He is ... a friend. Come down from Budapest to see me. You've seen him on base before. Last winter, before my last leave."

"I see. Your friend, he is ...?" The officer stepped back and clasped his paws behind his back, sweeping his stern gaze over to the coyote.

"American." There was a short, terse pause.

"I see. Tell him I'm sorry for him. But if you would tell him to wait outside for a moment, I must speak to you in private."

William almost shot his muzzle off right there, but Konrad laid a paw on his shoulder to reassure him, a small gesture that the Shepard did not fail to notice. The wolf spoke English this time, but deliberately, so that the yote might understand his superior's tactless assumption.

"William. Would you please wait outside? This superior dickwad wants some alone time with me. Most likely to let me stuff his noise hole with my knot."

Konrad nodded with a shit eating grin, and it took all of William's resolve not to burst out laughing. He looked to the Shepard who just nodded graciously. William rolled up his diagram and went outside, standing under a slight overhang that shielded him from the night's light drizzle. In the dotted circles of lamps, the coyote passed the time watching a few soldiers unload wooden crates from the supply truck. He kept a close ear to the window next to the door, keeping tabs on the conversation inside.

"What is it that you want to talk to me about, lieutenant?" Konrad still remained at attention. A cold sweat had seeped down his back. He wondered if the dog suspected something between himself and William. The dog finally took off his rain slicked, brimmed officer's hat and waved the shorter wolf to ease.

"This is off the record. Do you understand, Wagner?" Konrad nodded, and Gottschalk went on. "How did Schütze Diederich perform on your last patrol?" Konard fidgeted somewhat at the mention of Franz.

"He performed adequately, lieutenant. He's alive isn't he?"

"He claims you saved him. When he's lucid, he keeps asking when you are going to come see him." The officer looked sideways at the wolf, noticed the slight sheen of cold sweat breaking across his black furry brow. "Do you have any idea why he might he might say ... such things?"

"The ... kampfwagen caught fire and killed half our squad after a grenade hit us. Franz ... I mean ... Diederich and I, barely made it out of that deathtrap alive before it exploded. He just needs some time I think."

"Konrad ..." The shepard dog looked at him directly this time. "I want your honest opinion on this. Completely off the record. Where do you think Franz belongs?"

Konrad hesitated a moment before taking a short inhale. Was Gottschalk testing him?

"I think he would be best suited working as a medic." He paused, hoping this came across the right way. "Off the front line." Gottschalk nodded in agreement.

"I've put in a request for his transfer to our Logistics regiment. Effective once he regains his composure."

Konrad nodded back in agreement and breathed an inward sigh of relief. He wouldn't have to risk his friend outing him again. The wolf regretted the time his commander left him and Franz alone in the kampfwagen together. While the badger went out to run a personal errand with the gunner in one of the small villages nearby a few months ago, the fox had made his needs very clear. Gottschalk puffed up a bit, like a blowfish.

"On record, since your squad is now disbanded, I need to move you to another one. Congratulations on your promotion, Unteroffizier." The dog reached out his paw to congratulate the shocked wolf.

"I ... don't understand ..." Konrad trembled as he shook paws with his senior officer.

"I need squad commanders who will not freeze under the heat of battle. According to your own report, Unteroffizier Kirsch fled his post. Had the bullet not already done so, I would have relieved him of command." Gottschalk smiled, his fangs glinting with a hint of dark irony. "Consider yourself his superior replacement."

"Forgive my impudence, but I doubt the Empire's generals will honor your promotion ..." Konrad felt his legs weak under him, his head dizzy with reeling circumstances. Gottschalk spun around and clasped his paws behind his back before making an impromptu inspection of the barracks.

"The Empire's Generals have more pressing concerns right now." Gottschalk turned halfway to face Konrad, his beady eyes narrowing. "As of three days ago, The Triple Crown is no more. We just received the telegraph from Berlin earlier today."

"My God!" The black wolf stammered out, almost choking. The sudden disintegration of almost half of Imperial Europe stunned him, and he nearly fell back into the chair at the table without knowing it. "What happened?"

"There was a worker's revolt in Budapest. It spread like wildfire to Vienna. Karl the First ?abdicated rule under popular dissent. Fearing a similar revolt, Wilhelm the Second followed suit."

"Who is in charge then?"

"J_oint Chiefs Hindenburg and Hötzendorf have declared a temporary stratocracy. Once social stability is regained, the people will form new government._" After passing by Konrad's bunk, the Oberleutnant inspected the wolf's bed, before opening his personal trunk. Konrad was too numb to notice.

"What type of government. Communist? Republic?"

"T_he people are leaning toward a Socialist Democracy. It remains yet to be seen. The sheer number of splinter political parties staggers the mind." The Shepard dog knelt down and poked through Konrad's neatly folded uniforms. "_Whichever the case, the Serbian dogs at our heels will step up their attacks once news spreads." Gottschalk paused when something glinted in the lantern's soft glow. "Therefore, I want you to take two days of personal leave and be back here ready for double duty patrols."

"Yes, lieutenant!" The black wolf snapped back at attention, the imminent threat forcing him to focus on his duty.

"O_h, and Unteroffizier Wagner_." Gottschalk picked up and examined a framed picture of Konard and William sitting together on the levies of the Donaukanal back in Vienna. They had an arm around each other's shoulders. A icy clench formed in Konrad's gut, but he remained still.

"Yes, lieutenant?"

"I do not want to see the American in the barracks again. Take him with you on leave, find a nice room somewhere in Belgrade, but do not be seen with him while on duty. I do not want it to affect morale." He paused to run a thumb claw over the two in hesitant appraisal. "Do you understand?"

"Yes lieutenant."

His commanding officer tossed the memento back into the trunk and slammed the lid shut.

_**March 9th, 1925

Belgrade, Serbia**_

Konrad scraped his claws gently down William's furry side, and the naked coyote squirmed back against his wolf. They murred together in a mess of rumpled and sweat soaked sheets, watching the thick rain fall outside their stately inn's second story window. The shadowy outline of Belgrade's spires poked through the gray mist of a low hanging overcast sky. Together they listened to the occasional clomp-clomp-clomp of a carriage passing by on the cobblestone street below.

As the black wolf nuzzled the coyote's right ear from behind, William twisted to kiss Konard, their tongues dancing briefly with each other before they went back to enjoying another afterglow. As William's mind began to wander, Konrad played with the coyote's tail as a matter of habit. Another few months and it would be their tenth anniversary as mates. So much had happened since they met on board the deck of the Lucy so long ago.

After a long while William mustered enough bravery to ask his mate something. The sole reason he came to Belgrade.

"Konrad?" William placed his paw in the wolven one holding him from underneath.

"Yes, love?"

"After you finish here, will you come back with me to Berlin?" The wolf ran a thumb claw over the coyote's slender paw.

"Why Berlin?"

There was an uneasy pause.

"I'm going to try to find work there. And ..." William wiggled his tail into Konard's sheath. "... we wouldn't have to hide away in upscale inn's to see each other. A lot of my friends have moved there. Adolf for one. He tells me if we wanted to hold paws out in the streets there, no one would say anything." William licked the frown from Konrad's muzzle.

"What about Paragraph 175?"

"There's another movement to repeal it, led by Magnus Hirschfeld."

"Who?" Konrad squinted, and the coyote turned on his back, nipping the wolf for his reply.

"Haven't you seen Anders als die Andern yet?"

"I guess Ive been too busy getting shot at." The wolf nipped back, a small amount of resentment spilling out. He knew the coyote had studied hard the past few years, but it was decidedly cushy compared to what he had gone through for William. Konrad had gone from grease pit to shell scrape, to hell and back, and now William mocked him for not seeing some obscure bit of high brow artsy cinema.

Konrad found it hard not to grit his fangs and growl. Things had been always been strained between them. The past ten years had not been easy. But the wolf found himself separating more and more from the coyote with each passing year, not from the increasing distances as William might suspect, but from his imagined social superiority.

Maybe William's Uncle Albert, God rest his soul, had been right after all. Konrad was proletariat. The labor class. Through and through. Balls to Bones. William was bourgeoisie. The merchant class. Raised on wealth and education. The struggle of their relationship mimicked that of the former Triple Crown; caught between the needs of Capitalism and Communism.

It had already torn the Empire apart. Would their relationship follow? There had to be a Third Way.

Instead of growling Konrad rolled over. William blinked for a while, realizing his impertinence. He rolled over and hugged his mate from behind, attempting to make amends by rubbing the black fur of Konrad's naked belly. He kissed the back of the wolf's ear in apology.

"I'm sorry Konrad. It's ... just been a while." William whispered. Konrad tried to hide the feelings of betrayal, fighting back tears. He remained silent. After a few minutes William rolled back against the moist sheets, watching fat drops of cold rain pling against the window.

"I know it has." Konrad finally offered. William turned his head to look at the wolf's bare backside. He cursed himself for wanting to run a paw down that strong back and cup that oh so familiar and sexy lupine ass.

"Then ... come back with me ..."

"I can't."

"Konrad, why not?"

"Because my country needs me."

"Damn it, I need you!" William's paws latched on to his mates shoulders and he shook the wolf hard. In a flash Konrad flipped around, claws digging into the coyote's thin arms, pinning him.

"You don't get it do you?" He snarled, spittle flying into his mate's face. The coyote's muzzle scrunched in rebuke. "If I don't fight for you, keep the Serbs from assassinating another Duke, or worse, provoking another war, then these equal rights you keep throwing in my muzzle, well you can just kiss all that scheisst goodbye!"

William's admonished look spurred something in Konrad. The coyote's green eyes looked meek now, their irises trembling a bit at Konrad's sudden outburst. William had never gotten used to that part of his mate. The wolf was hard to anger, but when it broiled to the surface, it overran all, like lava.

Konrad saw the look in William's eyes, felt the slimmer body pinned underneath him shudder with fear or submission. Instead of the coyote, the wolf saw a shell shocked fox, broken by blood and gunfire. He would never let the Serbs push past Belgrade. He would never give them the chance to take a cowardly shot behind a barn house at his mate.

The wolf didn't fight for the coyote's equal rights, but for his life. Konrad would rather hold William's paw in secret than risk never at all.

Konrad pushed his muzzle into William's, mashed their lips together. His tongue forced their way between his lover's thin black lips. Instead of tensing and pushing the wolf away, the coyote's eyelids fluttered, his paws twitching in reflex. For a moment they attempted to run up the wolf's backside until the fascist grip of the paws pinning them down against the sheets reminded him that this was not a democratic moment.

Between the thick muscle twisting inside his muzzle, William gasped, his moan half cut off from his lover's campaign. The feral passion rolling off the larger canid atop him sent the coyote into a rapt swoon, and his form gave a soft shiver in response. The primal part of Konrad's perception fed on that, drove his instincts down that carnal path of no return. His black muzzle dipped to the coyote's quivering chest, his tongue now seeking the hard buds hidden underneath the black and gray fur there.

When the wet muscle swirled around his sensitive nipples, William whined, his back arching against the incontestable force holding him down into the sweaty, mussed sheets. Konrad paused as something wet poked him in his lower belly, and stopped long enough to look between their bodies. The coyote's pink tip had slipped out of its sheath, a bead of pre already rolling down the slit of its tapered glans.

Konrad looked back up at William, whose eyes widened at the saucy glare. The wolf repositioned his hips and used his knees to push the coyote's thighs together. He scooted his rump down to the his lover's knees before gliding back up, grinding their sheaths together with a low growl. The coyote murred softly as their two leaking tips slid past each other, felt their furry sacs grind against each other. William tired to stir, but Konrad bared his fangs with a stern growl. The coyote flattened his ears and relinquished control.

He wasn't sure if he had a choice either way. But that just made the moment even more intense.

Konrad ground against the pinned canid with slow repetition, letting their arousal build with torturous crescendo. His yellow eyes smoldered, pierced the subjugated yote beneath him with a gleam of lust and power. After a few minutes Konrad used his knees again, this time to push the coyote's thighs apart. He let one paw holding William down go in order to hook the coyote's ankles up near his broad shoulders, but only long enough to wrench the wrist back under control. Konrad didn't waste a single moment before running his long lupine shaft back and forth past William's well used tail hole.

William whimpered in need, remaining still with keen anticipation as he felt the wolf's thick glans press against his cum leaking pucker. It entered him with little effort, the last load his lover shot into him easing the brief, cursory moment of resistance. The coyote groaned as the thick wolven member slid all the way in, his whimpers of ecstasy falling on the wolf's black ears. With the coyote's ass up in the air like it was, his slim body folded up, the wolf's deep penetrating angle hit all the right spots inside him.

Konrad withdrew, a small gush of lukewarm wolf spunk spilling out with it. He thrust back in, jolting his lover's already sore insides with an abrupt bark of joy. Not wasting any more time the wolf set up a steady rhythm of hard thrusts, mashing the smaller canid's form under him into the mattress again and again. Konrad loved the gushy feeling, the soft squish as he pounded away at Willam's tight ass.

As hard barks bounced around the well furnished room, the lumpy wool mattress swayed with each deep rock and forth the two gave. William felt Konrad's knot base swell inside of him, its orb slipping in and out of his well stretched ring with soft slurps. He whimpered as it glided past his prostate, only to pop back out. The wolf growled lower, nipping at his lover's ears.

"You like that ... huh?" A small bit of spittle dropped from the wolf's bared fangs to land on the coyote's small nose. It mimicked the steady drips of pre leaking out from his hard yote cock. His own knot pushed out of the tight skin and fur of his sheath.

"Y ... Yeah ... harder ..." William gasped between short, tight pants of pleasure. The tip of his cock slapped the fur of his taught stomach, slinging pre against them both each time Konrad's balls gave a wet slap against the cum draining out of his ass.

The wolf's paws tightened on the coyote's wrists for leverage, sharp claws biting into the delicate skin underneath the sweat matted coat. Konrad's snarl deepened as his lower back arched, driving himself deeper before his knot caught just behind William's ring. The sudden tightness drove the wolf over the edge, and Konrad threw his head back into a hearty howl.

The coyote felt another hot lupine load shoot deep into his guts.

William groaned with satisfaction at the feeling, his hind paws kicking lightly as his lover continued to shudder and buck his knot inside his gooey ass. Their uneven pants filled the inn room as they slipped into an exhausted glow. It took a moment for William to realize he had given in to Konrad's sudden ravage without reaching a comprise or even a solution, his sex hazed mind still blank from the steamy romp.

Konrad shifted some, and with how the wolf leaned over him, it squashed their tie right up against his bruised prostate. A sudden thick gush of mixed seed and pre shot out between their furry bodies.

"Ahh ... careful!" William's eyes sealed from the sudden over sensation, and the coyote's legs strain to push the wolf back up to ease the pressure.

"What? You mean ... this?" Konrad arched his lower back, forcing his knot deeper. The coyote gave another squeal as the wolf pressed even hard now, deliberate. Another gout spurted out of the coyote's tip, this one thicker and whiter. The black wolf smiled. "Who said I was done yet?"

Konrad dragged up William's paws by the wrists and placed the yotes paws on his calves. With a domineering gleam the wolf's paws clamped atop the coyote's pushing his ankles up around his ears. The way he folded the smaller canid put even more direct pressure on his already oversensitive prostate.

"Kon ... Konrad ... it ... feels funny ..." William whined, ears folded back against his skull. His chest hitched, trying to catch his breath now that the feeling inside himself edge closer to pain than pleasure.

The wolf looked down at the helpless coyote, felt him squirm about. A wicked smile spread across his muzzle as the coyote's inside's clenched and continued to milk and clamp around his trapped orb. Konrad started to grind his hips now against William's ass, bottoming out. He gave short, sudden jabs at an upwards angle, alternating jabs and grinds right into his lover's g-spot.

"Ahh! ... ahh! ... grrr! ..." The canid folded completely in half hissed through gritted fangs. His eyes squeezed shut, ears still folded back. William's paws spasmed under Konrad's, but the wolf had the entire upper body weight on them with unbreakable leverage. "It ... doesnt feel ... stop ... "

Konrad wasn't listening.

The wolf just gave a light growl before mashing his hips down on the coyote's upturned ass. He ground his knot again and again into William's prostate, felt the tightening organ convulse. The coyote strained under him for a moment until a long drown out yip slipped out from between William's black muzzle lips.

His cock twitched once, twice, before a sudden spurt of thick milky white welled up around his slit and poured down to pool into his belly fur. Konrad grinned down at the sight before rolling his hips, mashing out another dribble out of the yelping coyote.

William whimpers finally prompted Konrad to ease off, and he let go off the coyote's paws. The wolf swung the coyote's right leg and rolled the smaller canid to the side before spooning the limp coyote from behind. They laid there in silence for a while, broken pants easing into more even breathing. William continued to leak onto the sheets, both from the front and from behind. After a while his paw moved up to stoke the lupine pair wrapped around his chest from behind.

"That ... kinda hurt ..." William whispered softly, the tips of his ears flickering against Konrad's chin.

"You big baby ..." Konrad chuckled with a yawn. He squeezed the smaller canid tightly. "You said you wanted it harder. And I stopped once you got off." William found himself nodding without realizing it. A part of him liked it, but ... he felt so torn inside. Konrad had never been like this before. It was like he didn't know who the wolf was anymore.

But maybe he was being too critical of his mate. The wolf was probably not used to having his subordinates question him, and likewise blindly obeying those above him. William sighed and nuzzled back into Konrad, whose exhausted breaths already evened out in relaxed slumber. Soft snores soon followed.

William yawned as well, his numb mind still reeling from his mate's questionable actions. His body attempted to move out of the wolf's embrace, but the tie and the arms around him remained adamant that he stay put. The coyote's mind drifted, his own sore body floating away. He slept.

They still hadn't discussed anything really ...

March 10th, 1925

William awoke with a start from the distant wail of an ambulance, and instantly threw a paw up to shield himself from the blinding light pouring from the room's window. The naked coyote twisted about on the soiled sheets, his mussed fur still matted in spots from died semen. He reach about for Konrad.

The bed was empty.

He flopped back into bed for a few minutes, letting his stiff body re-acclimate itself to the conscious world. When it was ready he pulled himself up and limped to the window, looking outside to the church spires and tops of historic buildings dot the former Serbian capitol. Scaffoldings spiraled up from around some of them as the Serbian people rebuilt their once glorious city even under ever watchful German eyes. Down below cars and carriages alike passed each other on the crowded streets, honks and squeals of brakes drifting up to his ears.

William glanced about at the clock sitting on the nightstand and realized it was well past eight o'clock in the morning. He wondered why Konrad hadn't come back with breakfast yet. They usually snuggled in the musky sheets well into noon before showering together. Another siren wailed from somewhere out in the city.

The coyote turned back to the window and rested a paw against the glass, contemplating a thin streak of black smoke snaking its way to the clear morning sky from halfway across Belgrade. A police wagon rolled slowly past his window from the street blow. The mostly German squad squatting on the wagon's back gave vigilant and distrustful glares to the early morning pedestrians milling about on the streets. Something must have happened just before dawn.

William stumbled around, his bleary green eyes still heavy with disorientation and sleep. He paused when he noticed a pen and small piece of stationary laying next a few loose bills on top the the room's writing desk. The coyote shambled up to it, his tail swishing about in numb curiosity. His paw tips groped for the message. It took several tries before William managed to pick up the hastily written message. William's green eyes narrowed into a squint as his fuzzy mind took a while to decipher the scrawl.

Dearest William,

Forgive me for leaving on such abrupt notice, but there was a bombing in ?Skadarlija shortly before five this morning. All those on leave have been ordered back to their posts to regain order and to root out those responsible. All signs right now point to gypsies, but it could be a clever rouse from dissidents from Sarajevo.

I've left some money for you on the table. Part of it is for the room, the rest is for another train ticket when the situation here stabilizes enough for you to return, maybe in June.

Berlin will have to wait for us I'm afraid.

With deepest love,

Your Wolfchen.

William smirked at the fact that he had crossed out that last part to his name. Ten years, and the black wolf was as consistent as he had been since the day he had met him. His smirk faded as he dropped the note back on the desk with a disparaging sigh. Another empty promise.

But Konard had been right about one thing, Berlin would have to wait ...

~ Fin Chapter III ~