Dante got close enough that Josef could smell him too, not the sweet scent he was generally used to but something much, much worse. The scent of another alpha was laid thick onto him, obviously freshly bred. Josef hated it, hated knowing that someone else had taken his mate before him. It got even worse when he got a good look at the mark in plain view on his neck. The realisation hit him now more than ever that he'd deserted his pack in their time of need. He'd left them to live without anyone in charge, hadn't even bothered to leave a note to leave someone else in charge. Now he'd lost everything and he might die trying to get it back. He'd missed Dante growing up, marking him, seeing his community grow and thrive. That didn't mean he was any less determined to get it back, however.<br/><br/>The look Josef received from Dante was definitely a huge blow. A very nieve part of him thought he could just come back and everything would go back to how it should have been years ago. He'd lost his mate's (could he still call him that?) trust and that was possibly the most heartbreaking part of it all. As much as he wanted to chase after Dante, tell him he was sorry; but Zach had made his way outside too now, he didn't have to look to know, he could smell him.<br/><br/>Already, Josef was snarling, teeth bared. Zach was smaller than him, being a runt would do that to you so even though Josef wasn't at his pique fitness, he wasn't intimidated in the least. "So you have to get your second in commands to do the killing for you, huh?" Zach did not like this comeback and snarled right back. "I want my pack back. I want to challenge you for position as alpha." This made Zach laugh but Josef wasn't fooled, behind that mask of power he was nervous. In a fair fight, it was obvious who would win between the two of them.<br/><br/>They agreed upon a time, form and place, well, Josef got to decide as per the traditional rules of a fight. Although their civilizations had come a long way since their slight interaction with humans, they were still technically animals. It didn't entirely prevent scuffles within the pack but it helped settle the bigger disagreements, like who was alpha of the pack. They had an hour to prepare, which wasn't nearly enough for Josef to gain back his previous strength but he most likely wouldn't need it anyway.<br/><br/><br/>Josef was sat in his car, covered in his own blood and probably some of Zach's as well. He had lost. He'd been too cocky, agreeing that the loser would never step foot in the winners territory again. Now he'd lost it all in a flurry of blood, teeth and claws. Just as he was about to make the winning blow after pinning Zach down but something must have reflected the light from the sun weirdly and it blinded him just long enough for Zach to switch their poisitons and gain the upper hand. And now he was banned for life from his own pack and he'd never see Dante again. This time there was no option to come back, he had to stay away or face the concequences.<br/><br/>As the adenaline wore off, Josef made his way home in a daze. He didn't generally drink but today, he really needed it. Still covered in gore and patchily covered in bandaids over the worst wounds. He was a mess, inside and out. He ordered a couple of shots of vodka to start with before ordering a sipping whiskey. The bartender and a couple of patrons seemed concerned about his state but Josef couldn't care less right now. He thought he was going crazy when he smelt Dante somehow, the same whiff he'd gotten in that moment where they shared a glance. But Dante couldn't be here, Josef had already resigned himself to never seeing him again.