She was so pathetic.

That was the only thing in my mind as I looked down on her. There she was, begging me, trying to manipulate me with her words and her tears as if I would ever forget what it was that she had done to me. She sniffled and whined, using that grating high pitched voice that I once would have burned worlds for. All it was now was pathetic.

"I'm so sorry, baby. You believe me right?" She was trying to sound hopeful, as if I would swoop in and save her from the situation of her own making. The bond was thriving in her presence, from me touching her. It was repulsive and it took all I had not to let that disgust show. "It's okay though, you came back and you're so strong." I knew that would catch her attention, she always did like powerful males. I should have never mated to her, should have never took her on as my female but I had been blinded by so called love.

She leaned more towards me, giving me a smile, a coy one, a sultry one, as if she believed she had won me over. She was always so overconfident. "We can work things out. We both made mistakes but I'm so sorry!" Her eyes glistened with more tears but they were drying up fast. She believed she had snagged my attention back and watching her try to hide her smugness was agitating.

"If you kiss her, I'm going to puke." Julieta's voice held so much revulsion that my mouth twitched, just slightly. Her and I both. Even my wolf was baring his teeth, his distaste for this former female of ours clear.

Mene, she really was pathetic.

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Vera snapped the words out, her gaze flicking towards Julieta and it took every ounce of my strength not to slap her. I wanted to let her chin go, never wanted to touch her again but I had a point to make. "He wants me, they always want me. Stop pretending your substandard pussy could ever compete with me or that they would ever-"

I pinched her chin harder, just a fraction and she immediately looked up at me, all smiles and coyness. "We can start over, just like old times. We can make our own life, baby. Make a new pack, build something worth this mess." She looked so fucking smug, sounded it too. I could hear everyone else in the pack start murmuring, talking, I could hear their judgement but I pushed it all away.

I lowered my head further and my stomach almost heaved as she wet her lips, as if she expected me to kiss her after all she fucking did. "Liberate me, et irritum faciet vinculum." I spoke the words low and clear, I made sure each came out of me as they should and the crack that followed hurt. It hurt in a sharp searing way that felt overwhelmingly like relief. That dancing bond, that wiggling parasite, simply vanished and I watched as the smile dropped from her face, disbelief washing over her.

"What-" She grimaced, her teeth bared with what I sure was the pain as she realized what I had done. The bond was done, gone, broken. As it should be, as she deserved.

I pushed her face away from me and she rocked backwards, her mouth open in shock. "Pathetic." I stood up straight before I sneered down at her. I wanted her to see just how much she disgusted me, how much revulsion I had from being in her vicinity.

"What? No! Ezekiel, we can work this out!" She started blubbering, real tears this time. I could at least give her that, that those were real tears at least.

I flexed out my hands. I felt like a heavy burden was slid off my shoulders, like I could stand straighter again, that I could hold my head up. It was done, the past was gone and buried. I could go home, I could return to Fortis and know that my past could never reach out with jagged claws and hook into me ever again. Vera was on her way to a long prison sentence in the Void and I would never have to deal with her or our Mene forsaken bond ever again. No more would it whisper at me to take her back, to find her, to make things right.

I was free.

"Good choice." The witch gave an amused huff as she yanked Vera backwards. "Come on, you have a trip to see a Councilor." She tilted her head. "You divesting her bonds or what?" She was clearly speaking to Antonio and he moved by me.

He kind of shied away from me but quickly tore a jagged line through his palm with a claw. "Through blood they were bound, and through blood they are revoked. I sever your ties to Provocatio, may you never step foot in this territory again." He sliced his hand through the air between them, the line of blood a knife that would sever Vera from the pack.

I remembered that. The look of that startling red on the ground and the sudden, eerie silence in my head that followed. Good, she fucking deserved it. I watch in no small amount of satisfaction as the witch hauled Vera backwards, she was still blubbering. The pack parted, their scowls and glares clear on their faces, a few even spat at her feet.

She deserved that.

A lot more than that if I was going to be honest. She deserved a bit more than Hilla dragging her around by her hair and a knee to the face but it wasn't my concern anymore. I was free and the Hunters could deal with her and Provocation could still exist without being torn apart by one female's never ending ambitions.

"Through blood they were bound, and through blood they are revoked. I sever your ties to Provocatio, may you never step foot in this territory again." Antonio did the same to Blake and the male just nodded, his expression closed off. At least he knew he was fucked and it was his fault. He could blame Vera all he wanted but he had done it anyway, he had gone along with it.

"We are going to send some others out to clear out her house, make sure it's decontaminated but we need to deal with these two first. We will be in contact." Officer Dalen nodded at Antonio and I could see him giving a small nod back.

The two Officers were quick to leave with Vera and Blake in tow. The scent of roses was thick and pungent and Antonio ran a hand through his hair. "Madre luna, what a mess." It was a small murmur before he turned. "We all heard it. Vera and Blake had been poisoning everyone they challenged, which means their wins are forfeit. I hope we can come together and heal from this betrayal." His voice was booming but I was done, so was my wolf.

I wanted to go home.

Luiz moved closer and Antonio reached out. They hugged and it probably would have been a touching moment but I didn't feel anything for either of them. Luiz could go back to Provocatio, he could live in the pack and things would be better for him. I turned my head and my gaze locked onto Julieta. Hilla had made her way over to her but when Julieta looked back at me, our gazes locked.

That was all it took.

A small spark that started another curling in my veins, a whispering, a subtle craving. I could see her eyes widening as she realized what it was. It made sense, in a way. My wolf and I found her cute, like Luka had found Shey cute at first. It wasn't anything that surprised me. A bit exhausting perhaps but I could live with it, it wasn't anything I found reprehensible. There could be worse, far worse. At least now I knew why I had been so protective over her.

This would be more of an issue with her than with me. She had a shit run of luck with males so I didn't blame her if this was a problem for her.

"We can work on bringing you back into the pack." Antonio spoke but it wasn't until he touched my arm that I realized he was talking to me. I pulled away from his touch as I looked at him. "We will need to work on transferring that dominance but you could come home." He spoke seriously and he smiled at me but I couldn't bring myself to return it.

Julieta had been right, it was like a comfortable pair of shoes that no longer fit. Provocatio was no longer my home. Fortis was my home, was where my family was, where I felt I belonged. It would take time for me to shake off all the bullshit I had surrounded myself with but I knew they would all be there for me. Luka and Micheal, their females, the kids, everyone there would welcome me back with open arms and let me move forward at my own pace.

I had once thought they had left me behind, moving forward too quickly, but I now knew that I had stopped moving completely and they were constantly looking backwards for me, waiting for me to catch up to them. They would stop and help me get to where I needed to be. They would help me figure out where I belonged, I never needed to push them away. They would have helped me through it regardless.

"Yah, it can be like old times, Zeke." Luiz said the nickname like it meant something and I flicked my gaze to him, my mouth twitching downwards into a small frown. They said it like it was so easy, like there wasn't over a decade of time between us. We weren't the same people, I wasn't the same person.

My wolf perked up and I felt pressure against my mind from both Luka and Micheal but I realized they were close. As in physically close. I immediately turned, my eyes scanning over the heads of the crowd before I spotted it. It was a beat up car, the one Luka refused to replace because he didn't want to waste money getting a new one. It was pulling to a stop in that little parking lot and I headed straight for it. I pushed through the pack members and could feel Julieta watching me, her gaze was like a physical touch against my back.

Luka was out of the car first and Micheal was out soon after. I moved through the crowd and started jogging towards them when they spotted me. "Ezekiel!" Luka shouted it and then they were running. Luka cleared the small fence and Micheal was close behind. "You fucking idiot! You stupid fucking idiot!" Luka was ranting, he was, but it was one of the best damn things I had heard in a while.

I felt a damn lump grow in my throat and halfway to him I stopped and then knelt down, looking up at the sky, my eyes burning before I fell forward, resting my forehead against the earth. It felt right, relinquishing the dominance I had gathered from the illegal rogue pack to Luka. He was my Alpha and I did right by him, even when I felt so wrong in my own skin.

There was a scramble of feet on gravel before I was grabbed. "You stupid idiot! You stupid fucking idiot! Are you okay?" Luka heaved me up, kneeling in front of me as well, and checked me over, his eyes checking me over as if looking for any marks or new scars. "Are you okay? Are you alright?"

Micheal hit his knees beside me as well. "Don't you ever do anything like that again!" His arms wrapped around me and I let out a shaky breath before nodding.

"Such a stupid idiot! I don't forgive you for shutting us out, you scared the shit out of us, Kiel!" Luka's breathing matched the shakiness of my own as he hugged me too. "Fuck you! I hate you so much right now, I seriously do. Don't you ever pull this shit again!" I wrapped my arms around them both, remembering what Lilith had said to me before I shut them all out.

Remember we love you.

I remembered it because they did. Even with Luka cursing at me, telling me he hated me. There was no lording above me, reminding me of the hierarchy, there was none of the posturing that one would expect with an Alpha. Luka didn't even care about the dominance I had just given him. They loved me and I had forgotten that, I really had. They were there for me, checking me over, making sure I was okay. They cursed me, they did, and they were mad, so mad, but they loved me all the same.

I could feel their anger pressing at me but they were holding it back as best as they could. I pushed questioning at them as Michael pulled away. "Jovan told us you left yesterday."

"We've been driving for the past twenty four hours." Luka pulled away and grabbed my face, making sure to check me over again. "So fuck you, I'm missing my kids because of you! DB was crying when I left. Crying! And Heidi was a mess because she missed you." He lightly cuffed me upside the head and I smiled at him, as best as I could, the lump in my throat almost choking me. "You okay?" He stressed the words as he moved my face around with his hands and I nodded.

"Better." It was all I could say. I was... I was better. I had dealt with it all, with Vera, with my past, and I was ready to go home. I had finished everything and my stomach clenched with a touch of guilt and shame, I should have trusted them. I should have trusted them to have my back but everything had felt so... wrong. I had done something impulsive but I was done now. Completely done.

"Go home?" I asked it hesitantly, hating that I had to but I couldn't help myself. I had pissed them both off and I knew I had given Luka one helluva silent treatment when he came back from disappearing on us. I could only imagine I would probably get something similar, maybe not as bad but still there.

"Yah, Kiel, we're gunna go home." Micheal got to his feet and then held out a hand for me. I grabbed it and he helped pull me to my feet before he gave me another embrace, thumping on my back. "Lil told me you were okay but you know how we are. Don't believe it until we see you ourselves." It was a small whisper and I nodded, thumping his back in turn. I understood, I would have been the same way. Micheal and I had been absolutely brutal to Luka when he had shut us out, I knew what I had been getting into, even if I had been stubborn about why I had to do it.

"Yah, let's go home." Luka thumped my back as well. "I take it you're done here?" He gestured to the pack where everyone was looking at us and I nodded.

"Hey!" Luiz called it out, moving through the pack. "You can come back, Zeke." He held out his hand towards me. "It can be the three of us again, like old times." He gestured for me and Antonio looked at me, his arms crossing over my chest.

Like old times.

It would never be like that again and it was going to hurt like hell for Luiz to realize that. I spotted Juileta and Hilla pushing through the pack and I extended my hand towards her without thinking. She needed a fresh start, somewhere she wouldn't be judged for the decisions she made, somewhere I could ensure she was safe. I wanted to take her home with me. I scanned her face as she swallowed, looking between my hand and Luiz. The hesitance was clear, it was. I didn't know if she was ready to let them go, let Provocatio go, but I hoped she would.

I wasn't the male she remembered and she wasn't the female I remembered, but that little bit I had left to give, I wanted to give it to her.

Just like she had given it to me.