A Kiss For Your Freedom
Chapter 56

We observe each other for a few minutes without moving, without even blinking. Without trying to attack the other. Until he finally took a step forward, lowering his head slightly. It has nothing to do with the position he could take before, nothing to do with this submission due to his Alpha and yet I know that I would get nothing better. He is no longer one of my Wolves. I no longer have any control over him, nor over these actions.

My Wolf growls a little louder, as if that could only confirm our status when everyone here knows that I am the one and only master of the place. Guards are arriving, en masse, my Beta may not be there, but I know that he is not going to try to fight, he wants to negotiate the survival of the other two. He wants to sacrifice himself so that they are safe.

I let him take a few steps so that he crosses the borders of this pack which saw him born, grow up, become powerful before abandoning everything. He immediately regains his shape and even so, I can only notice the difference, from his posture to his gaze, from this way of standing straight as if even in front of me, he did not feel threatened.

I take my form again while the guards just surround us, seeking to deprive him of any possibility of fleeing.

- You were looking for me, he said with a firm voice that didn't tremble even a little. So here I am. I came.

- I see that, but you must have forgotten that I wasn't just looking for you Dorian.

- You won't replace the others. I can guarantee it to you and in any case, with me, your revenge will be assured without you putting other Wolves in danger. I know you, as much as you know me and despite what everyone thinks of you, I know that you don't want to lose any members of the pack, even if I suspect that at this time, your Beta is already in making a clean slate in the one your daughter was running.

Just him talking about her makes my heart beat a little faster as my eyes change colors uncontrollably. It had been so long since this had happened to me that at the time I was surprised myself. I see him close his eyes and sigh before he continues,

- I came to give myself up, I came so that you can show everyone that you have taken revenge. We can do that, calmly and I will face my judges by accepting all the faults that can be placed on me or then, we are fighting now and you know like me that it is not because I have just my own head that I would not defend myself. There will be deaths and injuries, I won't be the only one to fall.

- You're threatening me too, I say without being able to hold back a growl that comes from deep in my chest.

- I'm not threatening you. I'll tell you the facts. I'm sorry it's come to this, I really am. But none of the three of us could imagine that. Jason's Alpha should never have come after us. He shouldn't have tried to separate us. We only defended ourselves. - By killing my daughter!

- By defending us against the one who came to our lands with a large number of Wolves and that with the sole aim of killing all three of us. I told you, I will take on everything, everything you want. Execute me in public, do what you want with me. But give up your revenge on them.

- Do you think things will turn out the way you want? Do you think I'll compromise for you? My Luna is devastated, her pain is such that I was forced to reduce our bond to a minimum, all because of you and your companions.

- Even if you managed to replace them, none of them would let it happen and that would only lead to more deaths. Still more deaths.

- She's just a human and you're no longer with them.

- But there is still a Beta and she is armed and given the success she made during the attack, I can tell you that she does not need me any more than he does to defend herself. Look, I'm saving both of us some extra trouble. All this should never have happened, we agree, but that's how it is and we can't go back.

A part of me knows that he is right, that he understands what the Alpha wants, but the father would like to have more, more blood, more tears which would only make him suffer at least as much as I myself can suffer. My breathing accelerates, my nails lengthen while my arms are covered with hair that barely lets us guess the Wolf who only threatens to appear at any moment.

- That's why you can kill me, he says while his eyes reflect the brilliance of his Wolf.

For a brief moment, there is something in me that I do not wish to identify and yet, which almost pushes me to remain in my reserve. I don't like it and my Wolves automatically group around him, tightening their mesh.

- Leave them, that's all I ask of you. Listen to your reason rather than your heart, that's what you told me when she died, right? So apply your own advice. Everything can stop now You gain a bigger territory and revenge in front of everyone. Your Luna, although she will not escape unscathed, will be proud to know that her daughter's murderer was put to death and she will eventually calm down. Do what you have to do and let's settle this once and for all.

Do you really think you know what I should do?

- You can believe me, I know better than anyone what we feel when we lose someone dear to us. I'm offering you one chance, one last solution, so that things can be resolved smoothly. It's up to you. It's up to you to decide Loïc. The cards are in your hands. He still isn't shaking. He doesn't even try to escape my gaze, to shy away from the sentence that I am going to inflict on him. He annoys me to no end, his indifference makes me shiver all over and despite that there is something, a strength in him that I still cannot define. With a wave of my hand, my Wolves attack him and pin him to the ground without him defending himself. He continues to look at me, he continues to act as if he were my equal, as if he were on my level. It almost seems as if he is the one who dictates the rules of this game that I know only too well having taught him years before he surpassed me in this area, often bringing me victory thanks to this talent. I hate it, this feeling that something might escape me. As my Wolves crush him, I see a smile on those lips, a smile that only makes me tremble as it seems cold and almost cruel. He is ready to play if necessary and in this game he and I know that he is very resistant.

- Take him to the dungeons, I said in a clear and firm tone. He will pay for these crimes. For their crimes between the three of them.

They obey. Without even discussing as their role requires and drags him into our pack. As they walk away, I look around, I replace it hard to believe that he abandoned her like that, without even putting up a fight. Something is bothering me, something that's making all the hairs on my body stand up. POV Jason

Its smell, I would recognize it above all others. He can't hide, not from me, even if he breaks this bond that is ours, even if he makes sure to cut ties, I know him better than anyone except Emma. His smell, the texture of his skin, the taste of his sweat. I know him well enough to have no hesitation about where to go.

I still do not understand. Why this sacrifice? Why act like we don't matter when in fact we just want to be with him. Quite simply. My Wolf accelerates, always more. He's not that far ahead, I can still catch up with him. Well, that's in my dreams because in reality, even if it's not that far, I don't know the terrain and am surprised by the holes, the craters in the middle of the roads. The more I advance, the more I see the traces of our different battles, of our various fights, this is what remains after the blood, simple traces in the vegetation.

Despite this, I don't slow down, the rage inside me is so powerful that nothing can stop me. I promised Emma I would bring him back and that's exactly what I plan to do. The landscape passes quickly and after a long time, I perceive smells that are foreign to me. Wolves, lots of Wolves mingling with the smell of Dorian.

I rage when I understand that he is already with them and that this time, it is I who will have to introduce myself into this pack that has never been mine. I stay at a distance so as not to be spotted. I have to replace a way to get in without this Alpha and these guards falling on me.

I branch off, trying to skirt these invisible borders from afar. The pack is large, enough so that the entire area is not protected. I only need a passage, a simple opening for me to benefit from it. Emma's POV

When I heard the knock on the door, I thought my heart was going to burst. My whole being began to tremble as I already imagined the horde of Wolves outside. Then his voice rose and immediately, I let out a sigh of relief. As if Wolves are going to knock on the door hoping that I will open it for them when they come to kill me.

Jason sent it, I know, he did it so she could help me, so I wouldn't be alone. And in a sense, I thank him for it, but even his reassuring presence doesn't make me forget that I'm afraid of not seeing them again.

She brings me a bowl of soup while my gaze is lost to the outside.

"You have to eat," she said softly. Your Wolves wouldn't like to see you down, they need you to be strong, they need you to take care of yourself.

"I know," I said, sighing.

- They will come back to you. I saw the way they look at you, I saw how much you mean to them. You can believe me, when a Wolf loves another person that much, nothing can keep him away from his loved one for very long.

I smile as these simple words warm my heart. I trust Jason, no matter the danger, I know he will replace Dorian and do everything to bring him back.