Bob Seger had it right when he talked about a long stretch of highway east of Omaha. It was lonesome and very quiet. They didn't even have the radio on. The only noise between them was their breathing and the whir of the engine as Everett drove.
His mood plummeted the closer they got to the crash sight. He was holding the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles looked like they were about to explode. He was so tense that if Mal said anything he may fall apart. As it was, he was barely holding himself together.
The car slowed down, and Everett slowly pulled the car to the side of the road. He stared ahead with unseeing eyes, arms propped on the steering wheel. He was looking at it for the first time in thirteen years, and just like back then, he felt the flames from the car and the wet grass at his back.
Mal watched as his eyes flickered red. The temperature in the car started to rise, making the werewolf slightly uncomfortable since werewolves and extreme heat didn't go well together. Magic twinged his nose, burning it as it wafted through the cab. This magic wasn't coming from a fae. This time it was coming from Everett. It was small, but Mal got the sense it was only the tip of the iceberg.
"Mal?" Everett's voice was strained. Whether from the magic, the stress, or both, he didn't sound like himself. "When we get home, make it go away. You can tie me up or whatever you wish, but this has to go. After today, I don't want to think about this place again."
Mal ran his hands through his hair by his ear. "I'll do whatever you need me to do, but I will not treat you as a plaything. Bondage is not an option."
He laughed humorlessly. "I've been in bondage all my life."
Without another word, he pushed the door open and stepped out. Mal watched as he rounded the front of the car and stood in front of the memorial. He looked small simply because his emotions were haywire. His black hair was whipped around as the wind blew.
Mal stepped out and moved to stand beside him. The flowers were truly beautiful. Someone - the woman whose name slipped his mind - had done a wonderful job to pick flowers that would grow each season. Currently, mums and sunflowers were in full bloom.
"I woke up ten feet from here," Everett said. "I saw flames and a man coming towards me. Then I woke up in the hospital."
Mal wandered the ten feet and looked around. After thirteen years, new grass should have grown in. instead, there were faint scorch marks. They shouldn't be there after over a decade.
He dropped to his knees and pressed his nose to the ground. He smelled dirt, grass, worms, and even onion. He had to sift through other smells from animals that had traversed the land. If it were anyone else, he thought it would take them forever.
But Mal was the best tracker Donovan had in the pack. He took his time to name the creatures he found, and he memorized their smells so he could recall it when he needed it. He did the same here, silently filing away all the smells he came to. Finally underneath it all, he found a smell he had never encountered before.
Correction, he had smelled it one other time.
He looked back at Everett, noting he hadn't moved. The wind shifted, and that magic wafted to him. There was no doubt this magic was coming from him, and thirteen years ago he'd lain here. Whatever magic he had had impressed itself in the dirt, and it could be smelled thirteen years later.
Mal didn't want to make assumptions, but he guessed the feather had something to do with Everett as well. He wasn't sure how, but he didn't believe in coincidences. There was a reason it had been found by him. There was a reason there hadn't been a scratch or a burn on him. They just hadn't figured it out yet.
Just as he stood, a new scent came to him. Before he realized it, a dangerous growl ripped from his chest. Everett acted on instinct; he didn't look back and walked directly to him. Only when he was behind him did he look.
A woman stood across the road, the sun glinting off her pale skin. She stared at them, her mouth lilting up as she started across the street. Mal stepped up, Everett moving with him.
"Finally," she muttered. She sounded relieved as her voice was laced with magic. "We have been looking all over for you."
"We?" Everett asked. His voice was tinged with concern and confusion. Mal felt the emotion prick at his ears and his heart.
"You are one of us. An ancient creature born once every couple of millenia." She sped up, running directly into Mal. The werewolf lowered his body and growled. "You have no say in fae matters."
"He is not fae," Mal growled.
She tilted her head slightly to the left, arrogance painting her face. "Nor is he werewolf."
"He is mine." Magic slammed into all of them. Though unusual, the magic that bound a wolf and his mate wafted around Mal and Everett. With those three words, Mal had solidified Everett's place in the pack.
The fae woman hissed, but it didn't compare to the feral growl from Mal. She was wise; she cut her losses and ran. It wouldn't be the last time they saw any of the fae. Not now that they knew Everett was alive and well.
Mal was too high strung right now so when his phone rang he wasn't able to answer it. Everett pulled it from his pocket and answered, patting his shoulder.
"Carver, it's Everett," he said.
"Everett, you need to get back as soon as you can. There's been another murder, and this time it's one of our own," Carver replied. There was a flurry of movement behind them. Mal growled again. "What's going on?"
"We've hit a snag here, but we'll be back soon as we can."
"Get back soon. We need both of you."
As the call ended, Everett turned just in time to dodge the fae woman as she charged him. He hit her in the back, sending her skidding across the ground. It gave Mal time to change, his massive wolf barreling towards her.
Mal lifted his snout and a howl pierced the air. Four or five answered his call. Everett turned a small circle as he tried to figure out where they were coming from. Soon after, some of those wolves melted from wherever they'd been hiding. They weren't of the same pack, but Mitch must have told them Everett and Mal were visiting. They were obligated to protect visitors in their territory.
Everett stood as still as he could. This many werewolves in one spot would incite pack mentality and they would pounce on anything that moved. Mal's rump pressed into his knees as the others formed a semicircle around them.
"Woman, we've told you before we don't know what you are searching for. If you keep invading our territory, we won't have any other option but to go to your leaders." Mitch clapped Everett on the shoulder. Mal's ears twitched but he'd heard him long before Everett had. "These two are under our protection."
The woman lifted a pale finger at Everett. Mal's growls and snarls turned to snaps and gnashing of his teeth. The four wolves in front of him took half a step forward, their anger riled from Mal's reaction.
"He belongs to us, not to the werewolves. It's a magic you won't understand or how to control," she said.
"Even if he is magical, he belongs to no one but himself. This wolf has claimed him as his mate, and he will kill you if you wish to hurt or take him. Think wisely. Do you really wish to bring war to your people?"
She screeched and jumped away from them.. Mitch watched her disappear finally in the wooded area behind the memorial. He whistled and his wolves gave chase to make sure she didn't return. He stood there until the sound of the pack moving had long been dispersed on the wind.
Everett sank to the ground and buried his face in Mal's soft grey fur. The wolf pressed his snout into his shoulder, snuffling gently.
"How did you know?" the young man asked.
"Your waitress, Dana, she's the mate to one of my wolves. She saw the woman follow you when you left. She called her husband who then in turn called me. We've been watching you for several minutes waiting for her to make her move," Mitch explained.
"Do you believe what she said?" Everett didn't miss his poignant silence. He sighed and rested his cheek on Mal's back. "So you do."
"Nothing should have walked away from that fire, Everett, especially you. It made the driver unidentifiable, yet you were completely unharmed. The only thing that makes sense is magic of some sort."
"So whatever maging the fae think I have, they want it. They'll be coming after me until I give it to them or die. Which means everyone I know is in danger." Mal whined under his tense fingers in his fur. He wasn't in pain, but the emotion in Everett's voice made him worried.
"There's more to this story. We'll keep an eye on the fae here. We'll make sure there's nothing here they need. When you get back, do as much research as you can and do not leave the confines of the pack. They're your best protection."
Everett didn't feel any better than he did when he woke up on the edge of town. Partial answers but there were so many more questions that ran around his head. There was too much going on, and he felt that he may not make it back home without losing it.
He thanked Mitch and his pack as they filtered back. Mal snuffled at the other wolves, undoubtedly saying hello and thanks. Everett opened the back door to the car to allow Mal to jump in since he was too big to sit up front and not cause a crash. He cast a long look at Mitch before getting into the driver's seat and heading back on the road.
This time as he left the town he'd grown up in he cast it one last look in rearview mirror.