“I broke up with Kevin."

Surprised, Max choked on his coffee. He coughed a bit and put the cup back on the table, pounding his chest. “The hell? Really?"

Octo gave a sigh and looked down. “Yeah…"

“Sorry to hear that, man." said the dog. “What happened?"

“He cheated on me."

“Ow damn. What did he do exactly if you don't mind me asking?"

“He almost fucked someone else a few days ago."

Max reached for his glass of water and said apologetically. “That's… well… I know Kevin can be a fuckboy but I didn't expect him to do that." He drank the water.

Sipping his own coffee, Octo gave a sigh. “And it's really when I'm starting to love him, fuck."

Max put his arm around the panther's shoulders in solidarity. “Stay strong, Oct. Not gonna axe him or anything but don't worry, there's still lots of birds in the sky. Besides, you swing both ways."

Max was right. As the dog pulled his arm back, Octo looked back at his relationship. Kevin was by nature a flirty person and he liked to sleep around. Octo at first hoped that by having a boyfriend, the red wolf would stop that. But still, the things they said on that day, those hurt a lot. Maybe it was true, he really was falling in love with the red wolf.

Christ, being heartbroken really hurt a lot.

He shouldn't let it drag him down for too long, though. It had been six days since that happened. He did not have any contact with Kevin at all. That was fine, and he wasn't sure if he could handle being around the red wolf anyway. At least his job and the operation helped to distract his mind, well, more like emotional burdens demanding his attention rather than distractions, but still.

Taking a sip of his coffee again, Octo asked Max, “Didn't Kevin tell you or Tom about it?"

“Well, Kevin did come to my place yesterday. Said he wanted to talk with Tom. Maybe he told him. Not sure, though, Tom didn't tell me anything. Kevin did look rather stressed."

Octo took a deep sigh. “Yeah, it's fine. Maybe being boyfriend with Kevin is enough punishment for me."

“Don't say that! Besides, Tom's on his way here." Max said, glancing at his phone. “Speaking of, what do you want to eat? Lemme get you food from Over. That's the least I could do for my fallen soldier."

Octo smiled weakly and looked up. The dog was smiling gently. “Press F to pay respect."

“F."

They chuckled.

“But yeah, don't think much about him. Kevin's an ass, I know, but who knows maybe he's thinking about his actions right now and he realizes that he loves you and he wants to make up."

“Max, please."

“That's a possibility! He's still a fuckboy with feelings!" Max gave him his phone. “C'mon, pick a restaurant and the menu."

Octo let out a sigh and took the phone. Max was right, he needed to get his mind off Kevin. Although it hurt a lot, there would be another chance. It was still early now. Surely Kevin was still stressed as well. “Guess I'll go with my usual."

A few moments later, Tom knocked at the door and said, “Oct, it's Tom." Max poked Octo with his elbow and pointed at the door with his muzzle. “Go get the door."

“Max, that's your boyfriend."

“It's your apartment."

Octo just grunted and continued scrolling the menu. Max chuckled and opened the door, letting the wolf come inside. He was still wearing trousers and a tidy shirt, though he unbuttoned the shirt as he came inside.

Surprisingly, the wolf sat down next to him instead of Max. Max himself sat down on another sofa now that Tom was sitting in his previous spot. He didn't seem bothered by it, though it made Octo a bit uncomfortable since he didn't want to cause a fight between them. “Hey, you weren't long, kan? Sorry, I went here right after work."

“Nah, we're fine." The shepherd said, sipping his coffee. “So now you're choosing Octo over me? How dare you!"

That made his discomfort grow even more.

Instead, Tom put his bag down and settled down next to him. “Yes! You forced me to watch football games all night! That's what you get!"

“Come on! You know last night was football night!"

Octo sipped his coffee and gave the wolf a question to change the topic, feeling uncomfortable. “Why do you go to work today anyway? It's Saturday."

“On paper it's for office restocking, but in reality it's just an excuse for everyone to get more overtime pay." The wolf took his shirt off, revealing his black t-shirt under it. “We pretty much just cleaned the office for a bit, received and took care of new stuff, then watched some films till we're off the clock. We did the job for maybe an hour or so."

Max threw the wolf a crumpled tissue. “You're cheating!"

A red flag in Octo's mind went up.

“I mean, even our boss joined in and bought some doughnuts." Tom just laughed and threw it back. “So, can it really be considered cheating when our boss joins in?"

The dog laughed back. “I want more doughnuts."

The red flag went down.

Astounded, Octo just let the wolf settle next to him. They didn't seem to mind at all; heck, Max didn't seem bothered by it. The amount of trust between them was astonishing. Octo wasn't sure if he could be as easy-going as them, but this was something he ought to learn.

“Cannot ya. You had this week's share of sugary food already."

“Aw! C'mon! At least I want more pastries."

“Bread, yes. Pastries, no."

Octo sipped his coffee, still feeling rather nervous. “How much has he eaten?"

“Two dozen doughnuts this week. Because of that I had half a box all to myself last night."

“Eh yeah we wanna order something, do you want to order too?" He gave the wolf the phone.

Meanwhile, Max protested. “I swear Tom you're even stricter than me! And I'm the one who regulates your diet!"

Tom took the menu. “Hey, you hear that? Seems like the wind is blowing." He ignored the protesting Max. “I'm gonna get black pepper chicken."

He smiled fondly at their antics, yet he felt rather sad because he could no longer have such with Kevin. “Sure. Max, you wanna order too?"

“Give me a milkshake and two cinnamon roll—"

“No! No more sweet stuff!"

“Ssh Oct don't listen to the evil wolf just put them in the order."

Half an hour later, they felt full. Octo finished his lemon juice and fought the urge to grab one more cinnamon roll and eat it. Lately, he noticed he had been eating more. It was just because of the stress, he reminded himself, he could eat a bit more but he shouldn't indulge too much.

“Anyway," Tom started, “Oct, has… has anything happened between you and Kevin?" His tone was soft.

The panther could only look at the wolf. “I take it Kevin told you?"

“Yeah… I'm really sorry for you two."

“It happened." He meekly put his legs up and leant back on the armrest, hugging his legs and burying his face. “Can we talk about something else?" He said, muffled by his arms.

“Also, I know you don't want to talk about him right now, but I think you might want to know this." Tom continued, still softly. “Kevin is moving back to his hometown."

Surprised, he sharply turned his head at Tom. “He what?!"

“Yeah." Tom drank his juice. “I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but yeah, he'll be going back to his hometown."

Octo moved closer to Tom, looking him in the eyes. “Where is his hometown?"

“Ausalt-on-Haye."

Ausalt-on-Haye? Wait, Kevin was from Ausalt-on-Haye? “Wait, he's from Ausalt-on-Haye?"

“Yeah. Wait, you didn't know?"

“He never told me. I thought he's… well, at least not from Barrowisle."

Max drank his milkshake. “I think that's sad that he's never told you about that. Did you tell him where you're from?"

“Er… no."

The dog facepalmed. “Dude what?"

“But yeah. He'll be on his way this weekend."

“Why didn't he say goodbye first? I mean, hate to admit but that asshole is still my friend." Max said, leaning back on the sofa.

“Well, basically, it's not just because he broke up with Octo. He had other problems." Tom gave a sad sigh. “His mother is sick. Besides, there's a job opening there. He also told me that he'll move back here when he has the money. He didn't want to tell us by himself because he didn't want to make us worry."

Octo buried his face in his knees again. The guilt was back, now multiplied tenfold.

“I mean, just going away like that makes me worry even more." Max said. “But I understand what he's going through. Does he… uh… you know, maybe have some debts and stuff? Because even with the reasons you said, there seems to be something else."

“He didn't tell me that, so I don't think he really has any."

Max gave a sigh. “Well, I hope he's fine."

“Yeah… anyway, can Lucas come here? He got bored at home and wanted to join… eh and he's also bringing Vilkas."

Tom and Max changed the topic and were now talking about something else. However, Octo didn't look up as thoughts filled his mind again. Kevin was leaving? Why didn't he tell him? Why didn't he tell him about his problems? He could've helped him!

Then again, it wasn't something strange. It was only recently that he tried to be more open with the wolf.

Although, it worried him even more. Now that his operation knew who and where Red Wolf was, this became even more alarming for him. He understood the clue that Red Wolf's fur wasn't red, but still, he was worried for Kevin.

Maybe Kevin was going home because he knew he was known?

Unlikely, and he prayed that it stayed that way.

He sat back up and stretched his body a bit, then gulped the rest of his juice. Right, he hadn't read the document the mafia gave him. He'd go back to the headquarter and pick it up later tonight.

“…you, Oct? You play games on your computer?"

He put the glass down. “No, I'm not much of a gamer. I can play my usual games on my laptop no problem." He needed to get back on track. Kevin was safe. Paradoxically, Ausalt-on-Haye should be even safer for Kevin because his father was there, and the branch there would not do anything funny without his approval.

Knowing how strict his father was, he doubted he would approve of killing someone for such a mundane reason.

Giuseppe took his reading eyeglasses down. He closed the file he was reading and let out a heavy sigh. Pinching the base of his muzzle, he could only wonder what he could do about Octaviano.

Of course, he knew his son was more than capable to lead the operation. He had no doubt about it. Octaviano was an intelligent person and had all the good qualities of a great leader. He was also strict despite his oftentimes carefree attitude. Giuseppe could not ask for a better person than him.

However, his firm denial about being his successor still rang inside his mind.

Deep down, he knew Octaviano was right. This was, according to the younger panther, simply immoral. Octaviano knew there were other unclean methods that this family did to gain its wealth, but he seemed to loathe this operation twice as much as he loathed the other methods combined.

His son was a master of words, Giuseppe knew that. His son had the capacity to twist truth and reframe outlooks, demanding obedience without many words. With a tad more push, he could be a perfect leader.

Yet, Octaviano reeled himself.

Sure, when his son said he was to look into the Barrowislander operation, Giuseppe was happy that he at least seemed interested. That he at least wanted to learn. However, as time went on, it became clear that Octaviano was more concerned about controlling the operation to go his “correct" way instead rather than continue what had been in place.

Giuseppe felt conflicted, both sad yet proud at the same time. On one hand, that demonstrated his capacity to handle the operation. Looking back at the Barrowislander branch report for the last year, they seemed to have increased the income with a relatively same amount of shipment without raising the price too much. He was not sure how Octaviano did it—or even whether Octaviano was the one who did it or not—but he was glad, nonetheless. On the other hand, it was clear that Octaviano wanted to steer the operation away from drug-trafficking to something he thought was more “moral".

Which brought him into the family restaurant. Octaviano used to press for a branch of Lo Squisito to be opened in Barrowisle when he was in university. About this, Giuseppe felt more than happy. The younger panther had been very enthusiastic about it. However, after Giuseppe told him the fact it wasn't going to happen anytime soon, the enthusiasm died down. Nowadays, Octaviano seemed more content on building his own life in Barrowisle, and in a way, separating himself from the family.

Giuseppe felt like he had done the wrong thing. As a father, he should be encouraging his son's passion before the family responsibilities started to weigh on the poor panther. He already had a candidate for Octaviano to marry, and he was sure the younger panther would not reject her, even despite his sexual orientation.

While the plan for a Barrowislander branch for Lo Squisito was still ongoing, that was a lower priority. Octaviano had suggested several locations for it, even as far as suggesting a watered-down version of it or even an entirely new restaurant for Barrowisle's lower market. He had to admit, Octaviano had a knack for analysing the market. He was very proud of him.

Still, with his age approaching fifty-five in a few years, Giuseppe was far from his prime. He had to ensure family continuation quickly. At first, if everything went according to plan, Octaviano was to marry as well as become the leader of the operation when he turned 30 while Giuseppe would only take charge of the expanding restaurant when he turned 60. He still wanted to take charge of the restaurant at that age, but it was clear that a change of plan was needed and that he might retire sooner while Octaviano took charge of the restaurant. For now, he had to look for other candidates.

“You are certain you can do this?" He asked, finally addressing the fox in front of him.

Said fox looked straight into his eyes with determined eyes. Despite his age, he still looked like he could lead an army to the front lines. “Yes."

Giuseppe cracked a genuine smile and extended his hand. “Welcome to the Ausalt-on-Hayen branch, old friend."

“Anything for my old friend." The fox smiled as they shook hands.

“Now, Nicholas will escort you to your new house here." He nodded at the fox. “I wish you all the best, Róðgar Æþelhár Sjilding."

Rothgar nodded with a smile. “Thank you, Giuseppe Fiorentino Zoccarato."

“Hafta say, the food here still tastes great."

Octo watched Andy as the lion ate his burger. He gave a fond smile, watching the lion try to fit a sandwich with four slices of bread in his mouth. “Either that or you just have a low taste."

Andy flipped the bird at him and continued eating, and as expected, the contents of the sandwich spilt out.

“Speaking of, how's work?" Nathan asked them.

The lion shrugged, swallowing his food. “Not the best week I had." He drank his soda. “The least I could do is to get away. Boss is really a tail-cutter. Glad I don't usually meet him though."

Sipping his juice, Octo leant back on the seat.

“Another guy was fired just because he couldn't fix the printer, I mean, that's insane! That's the job for the IT guys! And ye know what my boss did after firing him?"

He shook his head.

“He fucking called the IT department!" Andy slurped his soda. “Like, what in the king's mane?! I was so close to roar at him to fucking fix the printer himself! Some of my mates also sneered at him. I feel really bad for the lad he's fired, he's really a nice lad."

“That sounds horrible. No offense, but no wonder they immediately hired thee right after the erst interview."

“Yeah. Maybe I'll quit soon. Sure, the pay is great and the place's rather nice and all but the work atmosphere is even more rubbish than a rubbish bin. Some of my mates are also thinking of quitting. If only my boss get fired instead, that's gonna be a miracle."

Nathan leant on the table. “Will thou stay if your boss leave?"

“Of course! Hell, that knob is pretty much the one reason people keep leaving that department! Everything else is actually good!" Andy put the empty plate away. “So, how over thee, croc?"

“Nothing much. Work is kinda tiring but nothing exciting." The crocodile shrugged. “I'm here just for a week or so. I would say it's good to be back but really, I come here every month or so. At this point I'm really wondering if they should put me here instead."

“No drama and all?"

“This one girl kept twerking in front of me, but other than that, no."

Andy laughed while Octo chuckled a bit. “Go get her!"

“I swear I'd go for her if only she were not my manager's sister!"

They laughed.

“That's tough, mate!"

“Oof, Nate."

“Thanks guys. Anyway, is Kevin around? I kinda hate to admit that he's a fun lad to have around."

Octo exhaled a bit at the topic change but didn't react.

“Wow really? Thou wanna go shag him or something?"

“Punching him would be close. No offence, Oct, but he's an arse."

Andy leant back on the seat. “Wolf went back home about a week ago. Anyway, don't talk about him, croc."

The panther huffed. “Andy, it's fine."

“See? When Octo says it's fine, it means it's not fine at all."

Octo just rolled his eyes while the others laughed softly.

“So, how about you, Oct? How's work?" asked Nathan.

“Here and there. I've seen better days." He sagged his shoulders. “I know the end of the year is a busy time but really, I was not expecting this. Glad it's about to be over honestly."

“Ouch, the joy of being a corporate slave, huh?"

“Yeah, and in addition I have some family matters to attend to. Pantherines, you know how it is." He pinched the base of his muzzle.

Andy patted his back. “Gotcha, mate. I've been wanting to move out since graduation but my parents didn't allow me. They say 'it's dangerous' and all. Like, aye, I know pantherines like to stay close to family, especially lions, but hey it's not like I'm gonna move to another city or something. Times like these I envy you and James for being able to leave the pride."

Nathan chuckled. “By the way, you just spilled lion matter on us."

“Whatever. I'll spill everything if that means I can get my own place."

“That's not an appropriate way to speak of your species, Andy."

“What do you know abou—eh, right, Oct. You're a pantherine, too." The lion laughed.

“But yeah, I'm pretty much beat." The panther stretched his arms over his head. Max and the gang left his flat shortly after sunset, and he headed to the headquarter right away. Only, he met Andy on the way and the lion invited him to hang out, well, more like forced him to hang out as usual. He just huffed and agreed, and texted Richard asking if he could deliver the document instead. The hyena agreed, but he had time at 21, so Octo could only wait.

Now, with Andy and Nathan here, he very much welcomed some distraction from and the insanity that came with that document.

“How's that restaurant plan coming along?"

“Still no progress." Octo sighed. “My dad seems interested, but he has other things to focus on for now. I want to do this myself anyway, I'm not really betting on my dad—"

Nathan's phone rang on the table. The croc said, “sorry", then stood up and answered it. Octo drank his juice empty.

When he came back, he slumped slightly. “Boss is calling. He wants me to prepare the documents for tomorrow. Ugh, I don't know if the pay outweighs the tiredness."

“Tomorrow? Tomorrow is Saturday."

“Yeah, the meeting is on Saturday, for some reason. Also my boss is kinda nice so I don't want to upset him."

“Sounds like he's using you instead."

“Eh, maybe. Here's hoping my overtime pay gets increased." Nathan took his phone and wallet. “Ye're coming?"

“Oct?"

The panther stood up. “I'm pretty tired anyway."

After paying for the food, they exited the restaurant. They said goodbye to the crocodile, then headed to Andy's car. “Hey, take me to the Ashenstones. I got some stuff to do nearby." Octo leant on the seat as Andy drove away.

“Sure."

He checked his phone as Andy drove away. Richard sent him a message that he was on his way. He messaged him back, “Okay.".

“I hope Nate's not gonna fall over or something." said Andy, breaking the silence.

Octo smiled a bit and pocketed his phone. “You sound like your dad."

“I'm not!"

“Besides, don't worry. The hotel he's staying in is just across the next intersection. It's still 19 too. Don't be a worried daddy."

Andy looked at him weirdly. He looked back at the lion.

The lion then shuddered. “The way you say daddy is creepy."

Octo rolled his eyes. “Aren't you the one who's into MILF?"

“At least I'm into MILF! You, DILF!"

“I'm not into DILF. And I'm starting to think you've been reading too many fanfics about Law… or Yao."

Shoving the panther, Andy laughed. “I did not!"

“Of course. I'm totally convinced."

“Fuck you!" He was still laughing. “But I admit, some of them are really good! Give one a read! Maybe the sexual parts are gonna rile you up."

“You admit you read the sexual fics now?"

“You know I do! Not the gay ones, though. Miranda is way too hot to ignore. She's, uh… dummy thick."

“Hello horny police? Yes, this lion right here, officer."

“Hah, no one can stop me! You wanna read some?"

“Eh, sure. Send me that when you get home."

Andy then pulled the car over and stopped in front of the Ashenstones park entrance. “Here we are, Mr DILF Panther. That'll be 15 euros as shown in the app."

The panther smacked the lion's shoulder softly, then got out of the car. “Thanks, Andy. See you around."

“See ya 'round!" Andy waved at him, then drove away.

Letting out a small sigh, Octo looked for a bench and sat down. Richard should be here soon. The snow was getting too cold, making his anxiousness grow even more.

Not long after, Richard finally came. Octo expected him to be rather awkward and secretive, especially because he was giving such an important document out in the open. Apparently, he was wrong. “Evening." greeted the hyena with a smile.

Octo stood up. Wow, Richard seemed like a totally different person. No wonder, he was working with such sensitive stuff so he must be experienced with this public appearance thing. “Evening." He simply replied.

“Here's the document, sir." He handed him a file. “Sorry for being this late, I had stuff to do in the office earlier."

He accepted the file. “It's okay, thanks anyway."

“The meeting is tomorrow. The clients said they would come at 10 so we gotta be ready at 9." Richard said, but then he winked one eye twice.

It took a bit for him to understand what that meant. “Oh, right, right. Well, I'll prepare the presentation. It should be done by tomorrow. We're talking about the clients from Germany, right?"

“Yeah, that one. They're really interested in the firmware for their cars."

“Alright then, thanks for this. I'll be going home now."

“You're welcome, sir."

He nodded at Richard, then he began walking away. Behind him, he could hear the hyena doing the same. That was actually very clever, and he felt a bit dismayed for not learning about the signs before. Everything said after the winks are lies, only for them to appear less suspicious.

After a quick bus ride, he went inside his flat building. Inside his unit, he turned the lamps on. Taking a quick glance at the newly-painted wall, he took his coat off. The management wasn't happy about him making a hole in the wall, but at least he fixed it and paid for it by himself.

Maybe he should hang a picture there to cover that bitter reminder of him breaking up with Kevin. Maybe soon after the operation, when he finally had some free time. He had been busy both physically and emotionally lately. Even Kevin's jacket was still in his closet. He put it far in the back of the closet, though. Maybe he'd give it to Max or Vilkas instead or tell either of them to give it to Kevin.

Now, responsibility time.

After changing to more comfortable clothes, Octo sat down on his desk in his bedroom and opened the folder. He was curious who this Red Wolf exactly was and what exactly he did to the operation till they wanted to kill him this badly. Despite being thoroughly disgusted, he still had to know who he was and decide whether this assassination attempt was justified or not.

If not, he'd call the police, hopefully prolonging his assassination.

He opened the folder and read it, then time felt like it froze.

What…

Red Wolf was Tom?!?!