Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 21:00:39 +0000
From: Henry Wolf <henrywolf12@outlook.com>
Subject: Paws For Effect - 15

Paws For Effect
Chapter 15: Finale
Henry Wolf

It's been a long time coming! I finally got around to finishing this
series. I hope you enjoy the conclusion!

I would love to hear your comments, feedback, and/or any constructive
criticism! Let me know at henrywolf12@outlook.com or you can check out my
socials at linktr.ee/pupwolf12

*****

 Max only realised that he was asleep when the dense infinite darkness of
unconsciousness slowly gave way to swirling lights and colours. He could
hear dull noises around him, but couldn't make out what they were
saying. He was just aware that things were happening around him, but he
couldn't quite get his brain to focus on any one thing or even open his
eyes. He tried to push himself to break out of the state of
unconsciousness, but the little strength he could muster wasn't enough and
the dizziness made him from exertion made him pass out again, the darkness
filling his vision once more.

The dreams were wild and confusing. Max didn't know where or even what he
was. At times he ran on all fours, other times he saw himself walking on
his hind legs, or two feet as he had known them in his past human
existence. The images of swirled and changed, his body becoming muddled and
his sense of self uncertain. At times, people talked to him from above like
a pet, other times at eye level like people in conversation. He drank water
from a bowl on the floor in one dream and ate dinner at a table in
another. An owner walked him on a leash in one scene, and his husband held
is hand while walking in the next. The images flashed before him in a quick
succession, too fast to take in, whizzing by at the rate of his heart beat,
until they melded into a bright light and he realised the light was
sunshine.

Max's eyes were slowly opening and they soon adjusted to the brightness
that was the morning light streaming in through the window. Turning his
head, he gathered his bearings. He lay in a bed, all too clinical to be his
own bed at home. No, it was a hospital bed. The sterile room came into
existence around him: the fluorescent overhead lights, the linoleum floor,
the blinds on the windows. On the bedside locker were flowers and cards
with cartoons and messages of `Get Well Soon'.

`So, I haven't died,' Max thought with relief, suddenly aware of the pains
and aches in his body. He reached up with his paw and touched his head,
wincing at the brightness of the room. He rubbed his hair, feeling his
fingers pass through his mop of hair. `Ugh', he groaned.

`Wait,' he said aloud and nearly jumped out of bed from the surprise of a
human word tumbling from his mouth. `Hair? Fingers? Speech?' his thoughts
took him a minute to process and put the pieces together.

He threw his hands in front of his face, gazing at them. Yes, indeed! They
were hands. Human hands! Not fur-covered paws. Turning them over, he gazed
at his skin, his lovely skin he hadn't seen in ages. He passed his hands
down along his arms, the human appendages a welcoming sight.

`I'm human again!' Max thought as he checked out his old body, human chest,
torso, legs, face, ears, nose. His human dick a sight for sore eyes! He
could've leapt for joy if he weren't so fatigued. Now that he thought about
it, he laughed at how slow it had taken him to realise he was back to his
old self. `I mean, a dog in a hospital bed?' he chuckled to himself. He
breathed in the air. It seemed a lot less exciting than when he had had dog
smell. But the colours of the room and view outside the window were a lot
more vibrant. He had to rest his head against the pillow after a
while. Adjusting back to his old senses was overwhelming. Sleep soon took
over again.

When Max woke again, the light was a lot more bearable. The sun was
beginning to dip ahead of sunset. He could process his surroundings better
now. The air was more breathable, the light less blinding, the colours less
dizzying, he was more at home in his human body. His strength had returned
a bit, though little grunts escaped his throat when he moved too much.

He looked around and spotted a figure asleep on one of the seats beside the
bed, all wrapped up in a very uncomfortable-looking position. Who knows how
they managed to get any sleep? A smile came to Max's face as his gaze
rested upon his boyfriend's unconscious face. It had felt like years since
he'd woken up to that handsome face.

`Thiago,' Max grumbled, his throat gravelling.

The other man stirred awake and leapt from his chair when he saw that Max
was awake.

`Babe, hi! I can't believe you're awake. How are you? I was so worried
about you,' Thiago hugged and kissed him in between the stream of questions
and comments.

`Shhh, easy. My head,' Max winced at the barrage of noise and affection.

`Sorry,' Thiago's brows were furrowed in worry at overwhelming his
boyfriend.

After Thiago had gotten over the initial shock of being reacquainted with
his boyfriend, he seemed to settle, and the two men talked about everything
that had happened and what had since gone down, never letting go of each
other's hands.

Over the next few days, various visitors popped in to see Max as he
recovered. His detective partner Chris was, of course, the first. He was
recovering from the shot wound in his shoulder and the bite in his
arm. They were overjoyed to see that they had both made it out alive. It
had been a mission that had almost taken both of them out, but they had
survived, just about.

Chris explained that the forensics team had taken the phial from Xander's
hands and reproduced the antidote in the lab. Once completed they had given
some to Max while he was recovering and soon he reverted back to his old
self. Chris himself had been given some to prevent transformation.

Chief Holloway almost made an appearance at the hospital. He wanted to have
a stern word with both Max and Chris about undermining the police and
detectives by going behind their back and going about their own
operation. He quickly followed this up with a personal apology for not
believing in the pair and wanted to commend them on their valiant work in
taking down the cartel and its leader. The latter gesture had taken both
detectives by surprise. The Chief was not one to give any type of thanks or
apology, so they were both chuffed.

The Chief went on to explain that as punishment Xander would be spending
the rest of his days as a police dog. They hadn't given him the antidote so
he had been transformed into a dog, and due to his crimes, he'd be working
with detectives to investigate on other cases. The irony of the punishment
didn't go unnoticed on Xander's part, but he seemed to be doing well in the
K-9 training.

The last of Max's visitors was a blonde man who seemed to be recovering
from some deep wounds. He couldn't make out who the man was. That was until
a twinkle in the man's warm eyes jogged his memory. It was Hugh, back in
human form! Max was glad he had made it out, and was happy to meet Hugh in
his old form. They reminisced about their escape plan and what had gone
down at the cartel's hideout. Hugh explained that he and the other dogs
(now turned back into humans) who had worked for the cartel were to receive
sentences for their involvement, but were given some leniency due their
help in taking down the cartel. Their sentences were reduced down to
community service.

After he had been caught up on the events, Max was ready to go home. He was
eventually allowed to be released from hospital and return home. He was
never so glad to see his house again: his warm bed, his comfy couch, his
photos with Thiago. He relished just cozying up to his boyfriend and
wrapped his arms around him as they lay in bed or watched a movie on the
couch. He'd take it easy for a while to recover, both physically and
mentally. But, as with all detectives, he had an itch that only being out
on the streets or working on a case could scratch. He wondered what new
adventures Chris and he would get up to...?



*****



Epilogue



"Max, you better eat all your food. Chris will be here soon," Thiago said
from the table, tucking into his dinner. They had invited Chris over for a
few drinks. It was the first time Max would be seeing his detective partner
since the hospital.

"I will," Max grumbled with food in his mouth. He lowered his head to the
dog bowl on the floor and wolfed down some potatoes and chicken. For anyone
not in the know, he was a sight to see. He was a naked muscular man with a
human head, neck, chest, torso, butt and thighs, yet he was standing on all
fours like a dog with furry fore legs and hind legs below the elbows and
knees, respectively. His paws supported him as he stood on the floor and
his tail wagged as he happily chomped on his dinner.

In the weeks after his recovering, Max realised the virus had left him with
a new ability: the power to transform into a dog and back again. It even
allowed him to partly transform into a dog if he wished, keeping some of
his body human at his discretion. Sometimes he would fully change, other
times only transforming his hands and feet into paws or growing a tail. It
had been fun messing around with his new abilities. He had been glad the
antidote had brought him back to his human self, but he was glad of the
power to transform now as he had missed some aspects of being a dog. It had
been a surprise to Chris too and he had come to understand Max's new dual
identities: one as his boyfriend, the other has his pet. Chris would allow
Max some pet time and they would go for walks as owner and pet on a leash
or bring him to a dog park or just play in the garden.

Max enjoyed the time as a dog and play and be silly. Sometimes he preferred
to chill out on the floor or eat and drink from his bowl, other times he
was happy to cuddle with Thiago or eat at the table as human. Having those
options of being human or a dog was quite liberating, and he appreciated
his boyfriend's openness. Max was even certified at the vets as a dog and
given all his shots and chipped, which he found quite hot.

They had realised that all the other people who had been transformed into
dogs and back again also had the ability to transform. As part of their
community service, they were trained in K-9 training and helped fight
crime, just like Xander. They were all chipped and certified too, but were
warned not to use their abilities for crimes under strict
punishment. Luckily the antidote meant the virus couldn't be spread to
anyone else.

Max raised his head suddenly at the sound of the bell ringing.

"Chris's here. You go up and throw some clothes on. I'll let him in,"
Thiago went off to the door while Max ran on all fours up the stairs.

"Hey, Chris. How're you? Come in," Thiago hugged Max's detective partner
and ushered him in.

"Great to see you. How's life?" Chris carried in a six pack and placed it
on the counter.

"All good, thanks. Slowly but surely getting back to normal. You're looking
good. How's the recovery?"

"Getting there. A few aches and pains, but I'll be as good as new in the
meantime."

The men were interrupted by a scrambling of footsteps down the stairs as
Max ran down and into the kitchen. He was still stark naked and hadn't
transformed back into his fully human form.

"Hey, man. Good to see you," Max smiled.

"Good to see you too. Although maybe a bit too much of you," Chris laughed
and looked down at Max's body, his private parts on full show.

"Max, go up and put some clothes on," Thiago pointed up to the ceiling.

"I don't want to," Max had a devilish expression on his face. He had gotten
a streak of cheekiness every since his dog personality had blossomed from
within in.

"Boy, up. Now," Thiago demanded. He had had to adopt a firmness with Max
ever since his boyfriend had now partially become his pet. It didn't always
work on him as Max was prone to disobedience.

Max ran on all fours out to the back garden. He clearly wasn't going to
listen to Thiago and wanted to play.

Chris couldn't help laughing. He turned to Thiago and smiled, as if asking
for permission.

"Fine, go on then," Thiago gave in. Soon Chris was also stark naked and
running around on all fours in the garden. He had also discovered his
ability to transform into a dog.

Thiago watched from the back door as the pair got reacquainted with each
other, running around the garden playing as partial dogs/humans,
transforming into full dogs and back into human again, lazing around
chatting, and then doing it all over.

They were all happy with their new abilities, identities, personalities,
dynamics. It transformed their personal lives, but also how they worked,
allowing them greater strategies for espionage during cases and also the
K-9 unit had never been as popular.

Max was happy, he realised. Sitting back on his haunches and looking over
at his detective partner Chris and his life partner Thiago, he knew this
was the life he wanted. He savoured it as he took some paws for effect.

THE END

*****

There we have it. A happy ending for all the gang! I hope you enjoyed this
series. It was a joy to write and explore the TF elements. It was
especially heart-warming to read so many positive responses. I'm glad so
many people read and enjoyed it. I will hopefully stay in touch with you
all in the future for any new series/stories I write. Talk soon, Wolf x