I wasn't going to lie, watching the realization and fleeting moment of sheer terror as Antonio realized exactly who I was, was kind of funny. His face went pale and his eyes went wide as he stared at me, as if taking me in. A part of me wanted to let my dominance out, to push it against him to really watch him squirm but I flicked my gaze to Hilla and Julieta and immediately decided against it.

I simply crossed my arms over my chest and watched him. I was feeling... disquiet. I didn't like being on Provocatio. I didn't like interacting with the pack. I didn't like sitting there, mired in the past I felt like I had left behind a life time ago. I knew shit needed to be dealt with, Vera needed to be dealt with, I needed to break the bond that was writhing and twisting underneath my skin like a undying parasite, but I didn't want to be there.

I wanted to go home.

The realization struck me rather hard. I had been struggling so hard trying to figure out where I belonged, where I fit, without realizing that even if I didn't feel like I fit, it was still my home. I knew that no matter what, Luka and Micheal were there for me, their females too, their families as well. Not once had they ever made me feel like an outsider, like I didn't fit, it was just my own fucked up mindset preventing me from reaching out to anyone.

I had been struggling with the changed bond and had isolated myself from my family, the people who loved me, who would have helped me work through it. I hadn't reached out because I had been so absorbed by my own internalized thinking that I felt like they wouldn't have helped. It was a ridiculous thought now. Of course they would help me, just like I helped them without hesitation.

We were family.

Looking at Luiz, at Antonio, I thought of what it would have been like if I had still been there, still within Provocatio. It wouldn't.... I didn't have proper words to try to explain it, even to myself. It would have been different, so different. Luiz would talk my problems to death but nothing would get done and Antonio would just agree with Luiz and in the end I would end up doing it myself anyway. It wasn't their fault that I felt like that, it just... wasn't the same.

I allowed the mental wall I had built between me and Fortis, between me and Micheal and Luka, fall apart. I allowed the connections to become firmer, allowed them to reach out to me if they wished. It was surprisingly calm, with only the merest touch of agitation.

I want...

I started pushing the words to both Luka and Micheal and then stopped. I could feel there was a faint intensity pushing against me at my words, the two of them were listening, waiting for me to continue my thought.

To go home.

I just wanted to get out of this shitty pack, I wanted to deal with everything and go home. I wanted my past to be dead and buried, I wanted to be able to set the burden down and walk away. I wanted to walk back to Fortis with my head held high and to know I did what I had to in order to cut my past free and to stop Vera from ruining an entire pack with her dangerous ambitions.

Okay. You can come home. Luka's voice was gentle almost, soft, as if he were trying to soothe me. My wolf and I felt a burden shift off of my shoulders. Relief saturated me in a way I hadn't expected.

We are here for you, Kiel. However you need us. Micheal pushed through gently and I sent impressions to both of them of our wolves reuniting. They pushed their acceptance back at me and I swallowed hard.

I had missed that. I had missed it. I hadn't been gone that long but I missed them, I missed the pack, I just missed being home. I wanted this all done, I wanted it over with. The shift inside of me was almost disorientating. This had been such a push on my end. I had wanted to get going, to get the past settled, to deal with this all before I could come back to determine where I could fit. Now I could care less, I just wanted to finish this business and go home.

"Ezekiel... Ezekiel Ruiz?" Antonio seemed to gather himself and I simply nodded.

"Cool reunion, but we have a job to do." The witch waved her hand as if agitated with the turn of events. "We need to go search this Vera's place for wolfsbane, we need to figure out who to contact if it is true."

Antonio let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead, "Poisoning is a big accusation-"

"It true." I ground it out. I didn't want to sit there and listen to him talk circles around it because he didn't want to accept the fact that someone in the pack had been doing that without him knowing about it.

"Just because you guys might want to be brought back into Provocatio, it doesn't mean that Vera, of all people, poisoned all of you somehow." He gestured as he spoke and I resisted the urge to bare my teeth as my wolf gave a low growl. The visceral reaction at being allowed back in Provocatio cemented it for me. I didn't want to go back to Provocatio, my home was Fortis. It wasn't just me, my wolf even gave a rather visceral snarl at the very idea of coming back to the pack we had grown in. It wasn't home anymore.

"We are being dead serious here, Antonio. If you don't believe us, just let the hunters do their job and search. If nothing's found, fine, but they will find that Vera has wolfsbane and poisoned people." Luiz was trying to be rational and I found my gaze drawn to Julieta. Hilla was nudging her and I could see Julieta pressing her fingertips to her mouth to keep from smiling as she looked down and away from the other female.

My wolf chuffed in amusement at her reaction.I was glad she found amusement in this situation. I did wonder how Julieta was handling being back in Provocatio after all of the shit she went through. She had been banished at 19, still a kid in my eyes. If that wasn't enough to disillusion someone to what used to be their home, I didn't know what would. I did like seeing her trying not to laugh, feeling... probably not happy but amused. She deserved that.

There was another banging on the front door and I resisted the urge to snarl. They wouldn't leave well enough alone. Always fucking butting in. I hadn't explained anything to them, just shoved my dominance at them until they backed off, but still. Julieta had explained what she could, they should have just taken it and calmed down.

"I take it that's the pack. Right on time." The witch didn't look all that impressed, her entire body tense as she narrowed her beige coloured eyes at the door. "We should get this show on the road. Officer Dalen will need to be taken to this Vera's place. I'll keep an eye on the accused."

"Listen, I know this is-"

"Oh shut up. I literally just doused you in anti-bane, someone poisoned your coffee with wolfsbane, and you're still trying to argue logistics? Can it, Alpha Antonio." It was Officer Dalen who spoke and I found myself surprised. I had expected the witch to be the one to snap. "This is out of your hands. There is powdered wolfsbane on Provocatio, someone was poisoned, we are investigating. End of story." Her voice was surprisingly firm and the witch gave a rather creepy grin.

"I taught her well." She sounded unbearably smug at that and I flicked my gaze to Antonio and he didn't seem all that impressed but I figured his brains didn't completely fall out of his ass because he kept his mouth shut.

"Fine. You can do your search."

"Cool, we weren't asking for permission." Officer Dalen gave him a wide grin before heading towards the door, followed closely behind by Officer Mars. I could see Antonio bristling at their rather nonchalant attitude and he glanced at me. I raised an eyebrow slightly as I stared at him. I could tell he wanted to puff up.

Which wasn't too surprising, he was an Alpha in his own territory and another male, someone who was slightly bigger than him, because I was a bit taller and broader than him, and who had a heavy dash of dominance had come onto his territory. Added to that he had just come from a challenge for his position that he was losing. Him and his wolf were probably a little testy.

"Don't." I said the word slowly, giving him a hard look. The last thing he wanted to do was to challenge me. My wolf and I didn't play with anyone outside of our family. If he tried that and he would end up bleeding and it wasn't something I wanted to deal with.

"Just... just don't, Antonio. Deal with the pack first." Luiz, ever the voice of reason although in this case I couldn't fault him for that. I really didn't want to get into a fight with Antonio in his damned living room. What I wanted was to get this done and over with so I could go home.

I could feel Luka and Micheal's presence as a soft push against me. It reminded me of their wolves lying against mine, not being abrasive, not pushing boundaries, just being there. I was a little suspicious, I wasn't going to lie. I expected a bit more of a reaction from them. It had been the first time I had gone completely no contact with them since I had met them both. We had always been in contact, with the exception of when Luka went awol for several months that one time. We were always together and not having them in my mind or even close to my mind, was horrible. I never wanted to do it again.

I watched as Officer Dalen opened the front door and stepped outside with the witch following and Antonio and Luiz moved to the door, trailing after the hunters. I could tell Antonio didn't want to drop it. He never did like being told what to do but I guessed the need to take care of the pack was a bit stronger than his want to challenge me. Which was honestly smart on his part. There was only one Alpha that I submitted to in any capacity and it was because of respect, not dominance.

I nudged against Luka without thinking and received back a gentle push back, a small reminder that he was there. Sure Luka and I could argue and we got at each other's throats but I loved him and I knew he loved me. I respected him and that was the only reason I allowed him to be my Alpha. If anyone else tried to do it, they would find themselves on the wrong side of me. With the exception of Shey but she and Luka were a unit, that and I respected the hell out of her.

I glanced at Julieta again and she and Hilla were trying to hide their giggling again. I fought back a smirk at that, my wolf chuffing in amusement at their antics. They walked by me, heading to the door and I reached out and nudged Julieta's arm with my knuckles. I had noticed she didn't really like being grabbed so I figured that was the easiest solution.

She glanced at me and I watched as her cheeks flushed darkly and she gave an almost awkward smile, looking away. I stared at her back before I felt a small smile tug at my mouth. She was cute. It was weird, really weird, but she was downright adorable. I normally didn't think any which way about females. The bond that tied me to Vera liked to make me feel nothing but indifference to them.

Not that I was wanting to find other females attractive. After Vera I hadn't really wanted to deal with them in any capacity. Not because what Vera did meant I disliked females but more in a, Vera was so busy fucking around that I was in pain almost 90% of the time so dealing with anyone else on top of my own issues was not something that I had the mental capacity for it. But still, outside of Lilith, who I honestly thought was crazy, in a very adorable, kind of the human embodiment of a cinnamon roll, kind of way.

I flicked my gaze to Hilla and while I had some respect for her for taking care of Julieta and being so straight forward and level headed, I didn't feel anything in particular for her. It was curious and even my wolf noticed the rather big difference.

Our gaze flicked to Julieta's back as she stepped out of the door. Cute. She was cute.

We flicked our gaze back to Hilla. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing.

Back to Julieta. Cute. Down right adorable.

It was definitely interesting and the fact it made my wolf take notice meant it wasn't a little thing either. It meant something but I wasn't entire sure what it was just yet. I stepped out of the door behind the two females, keeping to the back as Antonio was trying to address the pissed off pack members.

The witch and the other officer were standing off to the side, the witch's eyes scanning the crowd. Antonio raised his hands, "Listen-"

"They interfered with the challenge!"

"This is not how things work!"

"They are outsiders!"

"Luiz was banished! He shouldn't be interfering!"

"Why the hell are the hunters here?"

"What's going on?"

"You need to explain this right now!"

Everyone was talking over each other and I could almost feel my head aching. I could imagine Antonio was getting a headache, he was the one just coming down from a wolfsbane poisoning. I could tell the moment he lost his patience as his dominance pushed outwards. "Enough!" The word was bellowed and the shouting quieted. "Can I get a word in edgewise? Madre luna!" His dominance rolled off of him in oppressive waves and I could see Julieta squirming slightly.

I shuffled a little closer to her, guiding my dominance to envelop her slightly. She would still feel a bit of a push from me but it would negate the oppressiveness of Antonio's. The moment my dominance touched her, I knew she felt it because she relaxed a fraction before glancing back at me. I gave a tiny nod and the relieved smile she gave me made that feeling of her being cute almost grow, before she was back looking at Antonio.

"I get that the challenge was interrupted. I'm angry too. That's not how this is supposed to work." Antonio rubbed at his face, his dominance shoving harder and I was aware of Hilla shuffling closer to Julieta. I hesitated before I pushed my dominance to envelop her as well.

"Just because you were damn well losing," Vera's voice had that bond writhing underneath my skin and I felt nauseous. That dulcet and sultry tone made me want to puke. Mene, she was such a false female. "doesn't mean you can call in an old friend to stop the challenge." There was a murmur of agreement from the pack.

"That's cheating, Antonio. That counts as you forfeiting." Blake's smug tone had me bristling. Mene, I so wanted to drive my fist into his face. My wolf gave allow growl, sending me images of our teeth sinking into him and curiosity of how his blood would taste splashed across our tongue.

There was some, almost hesitant, agreement from the pack and Antonio bristled, he didn't need to have fur for me to see it. "Don't even fucking begin with me, Blake." It came out growled as his form stiffened.

"It's the truth! We have traditions for a reason. Someone interfered, you forfeit." Blake pointed over the crowd and I could see Vera holding onto his arm, her eyes bright and the bond revelled in the look of her and all I could do was grimace. Pretty. Like a fucking snake.

A movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I glanced over, a low growl in my throat that died when I realized it was the witch. "That the one?" She half whispered it as she pointed to Vera and Blake and I nodded and she gave a small nod, gesturing to the crowd and I watched as Officer Dalen nodded as well.

"Well, that might be true but it turns out I was poisoned with fucking wolfsbane. So we need to let the hunters deal with that first before we make any snap judgments about what happened." Antonio snapped the words out, a low growl added to it. That seemed to have shocked the gathered pack members into silence. However my eyes were on Vera and Blake. I could see her eyes widening and could see Blake swallow rather hard. Good, they were nervous.

I narrowed my eyes as the two hunters started walking down the steps, stepping right in front of Antonio. "Anyone want to tell me where this female lives?" Officer Dalen pointed right at Vera and I watched as Vera's head reared back. She did not look happy with that, nervous really, very nervous. I was glad to see it.

"Why the hell do you need to go to my house?" She spat it out, looking almost affronted but I could see that twitch in her jaw, that tell tale sign of her nervousness.

"Standard procedure." Officer Mars almost drawled it out, looking amused.

"Fine. I have nothing to hide." She narrowed her eyes at the witch, who just gave her a rather sharp edged smile.

"Sure, sure. Any volunteers to take my partner to the house?" The witch raised her voice and I flicked my gaze to Antonio as the pack seemed to look at him.

"Someone just take her there, please." He was rubbing at his face again but his dominance was a bit less pushy, not enough to get me to retract mine completely but enough to stop agitating my wolf and I. "Let's get this figured out quickly and easily"

"I don't see why we need to do this farce. Who says he was poisoned at all?" Blake called the words out and Vera nodded, holding onto him as someone gestured for Officer Dalen to follow them.

"He was clearly losing, who says this isn't some last ditch effort to protect himself from losing the Alpha position?" Vera's voice was persuasive, manipulative, just like how it usually was when she wanted something. It made me sick to hear again. The bond was making me nauseous and I wondered if she had her head so far up her own ass she couldn't feel it like I could. She didn't even seem to register that I was close.

"Fucking bitch." It came out of Julieta muttered and angry. I glanced at her, I had been unaware of how tense she had become. The spat words had me trying to hide the tiniest of smiles.

I still couldn't believe that the tiniest bit she had left to give of that young female she had been, she was using on me of all people.

It really was... I gave a small, amused huff of air.

Cute.

It was fucking cute.