Claws (mxm)

Hidden Claws

(Here goes nothing. This will get dark at times.)

His eyes roamed over scores of news articles covering just about any kind of topic you could think of that could happen in their excessively large town. He'd decided to build his company in such a busy place because people often didn't see things that were right under their noses... and it was definitely the truth. 

"Not a single article even hinting at any issues." He said out loud as he glanced over his laptop toward his long time friend, Buck. 

The man had stayed with him ever since he was small, and even now, after building such a terrible thing, he still remained strictly loyal. 

"I do believe that it has been a very successful year, sir." Buck replied with a slight bow of his head.  

Leaning back, Del shut his laptop and grinned. "No news is the perfect birthday present, don't you agree? I think we can finally start offering our services to a broader range of those who show explicit interest." He said, getting another nod from his friend before the man stood and walked up to his desk, setting a folder on it. 

"Many people applied for the receptionist position we'd advertised, but you said that you specifically wanted a human." He said as Del reached for the folder with the applications that fit his requirements in it. 

He wanted a human mainly because their senses were far more dull than a shifter, and they tended to mind their business more or less, especially if they really needed the job. It was technically discrimination, but no one needed to know. 

"I like these three. Get them interviews for tomorrow. If they can't make it, check some of the others." He said, handing the folder back to Buck with the three he wanted checked first on top. 

Buck nodded and turned, disappearing from the room, leaving Del to his thoughts. It had been so long since things had actually been quiet. Ever since he had escaped his captor, then killed him in the forest a day later, and in front of his father, no less, things had not really been any sort of relaxing. 

He'd had Buck dig the microchip tracker out of the back of his neck the next day, then they just did their best to survive. Once he was big enough, he'd faked his real age and gotten a simple job doing labor. Because they had no real place to live and he had hunted for most of his food, while Buck generally just grazed, they managed to save up quite a lot. After a few quick loans and a disgustingly-big down payment, he had bought the building he now sat in. 

It has all paid off, though. 

His business wasn't something you'd find anywhere else, because it was as illegal as it got. Shifters were definitely willing to pay for the service, though. He had a long list of clients waiting for their chance to hunt a human without anyone possibly finding out. It was perfect. Even if humans didn't want to consider it, they often abused shifters, and especially those few that are considered cross varieties. 

Growling to himself, Del remembered the time he had walked into that clinic when he was fourteen. He had looked more like nineteen, so there was no issue with parent consent forms when he signed the papers and went through with the procedure. It was a simple surgery, but it kept him from being able to cause a pregnancy. It was reversible, but he didn't think that he'd ever bother to do it. He refused to be abused like his father had, and he definitely would hate himself if he killed another shifter by changing their body just to have his child. It was the way his male mother had died weeks after giving birth to him. 

He shook the thoughts from his mind as the door to his office opened and Buck stepped back inside, holding his cell phone to his chest, likely to block the caller from hearing much.