"You seem content."
Mail looked at Carver as he sat at his desk. He nodded then looked at the files on his desk. There were still six so no new murders had taken place. Seven should be the real number, but Donovan had taken Tyler Ferris's and was working it personally. Carver and Mal were working the original ones so it still kept them busy despite everything going on.
They hadn't found the fae woman, but the lone wolves had friends who showed up but we're currently tied up in Donovan's house. Astra and Domino had captured them at Everett's club the night it reopened. They'd been stalking another woman and would have caught her had Domino not clocked him with a pipe. The woman had given up, and both had gone quietly. They were being treated humanely while at the Alpha's.
When the two new wolves had shown up, everyone had been nervous. No one had been sure what was going to happen. They had settled down once Donovan had explained what had been going on and had even agreed to stay with their female friend. They hadn't given any more information, but at least they weren't fighting.
Everett had left right after his alarm had gone off. At least this time, Mal had gotten to say goodbye. He was able to kiss him before he left to finish his training. He didn't want to, but he knew it was helping. Everett hadn't scorched him during sex or afterwards.
He was still surprised he'd allowed someone else into their bed, but he felt better when Bastian told him Everett's feelings. They still hadn't said the words, but the emotions were there. If he ever said it, there was no way in hell he'd let anyone else sleep with Everett.
"Everett came home," he said.
Carver whistled low. "That was fast. Is he done?"
Mal shook his head. "He left just before noon."
"That sucks. I would have loved to talk to him for a bit. What did he say?"
"Not much. We didn't actually speak."
His partner smiled. He didn't have to ask what Mal meant. Only one thing would keep people from talking. He hoped that time gave him some reprieve. Maybe it would put him at ease enough to get them through all this.
They settled into the familiar routine of work and trying to locate the families of the victims. They were successful in contacting everyone but Elizabeth Duncan's family. No one was certain where they were, but they kept trying. Everett would have wanted that while he was gone. Mal was trying desperately to make that happen.
"Danvers, you have a call on line four," Strictland said.
His heart in his throat, Mal reached for the phone. The last time he'd taken a call like this Everett had called about the first murder. It had set this whole situation rolling, and now he was gone.
He took the receiver in his hand and let out a low breath. Then he hit button four and tucked the black plastic between his ear and shoulder.
"Danvers," he said.
"Tell your Alpha to call off his wolves, unless you want your precious phoenix dead," said the voice on the other line.
Mal frowned, glancing at Donovan's office. "What are you talking about?"
He caught Carver's gaze as the other man started talking again. "Donovan Sandoval needs to call off his wolves. If he doesn't, I'm going to Annaliese's domain and kill Everett Coombs."
The detective snapped his fingers soundlessly. Carver got Strictland's attention and they both eavesdropped on Mal's conversation.
"As far as I know, Donovan doesn't have a tail on you," Mal replied. It was the truth. He didn't know any of his pack were tailing people. As far as he knew, they were all on the farm. "Where are you?"
The other man laughed. "Like I'd tell you. You'll have every wolf in New Port after me."
New Port? Mal knew Almain Dupree was the man he was talking to, but did he really not know Everett didn't live there anymore? That meant there was dissection in the ranks. Was the fae woman working for herself?
Strictland and Carver seemed to have the same idea. The former got up and went to Donovan while the latter sat and listened, making notes as the conversation continued. Carver twirled his finger to keep him talking.
"I'm not looking for you unless you have something to do with my murders. I don't care where you are," Mal said.
"Those were never supposed to happen, but no one listens to me." He made an exasperated sound. "That foolish girl wanted to leave her mark so she went for the one thing we couldn't get our hands on." He followed with some very unsavory words about women.
Mal couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. "If you're in New Port, you're half a stare away from Everett. He doesn't live there anymore. The phone number should have told you that."
"Then why is his scent all over here?"
"We were there several days ago so it isn't so hard to smell him, but it should fade. As for the wolves, Donovan's pack doesn't reach that far. It encompasses Madisonville, Davenport and Wyndham." He was giving more information than he should but he had to know.
He held his laughter again as Almain swore again, this time a lot more colorful and in various languages. It cemented his theory of dissension in their ranks; now he just needed to get some more information. Glancing over, Mal knew Donovan would have all that information since Carver was no longer in his seat.
"If you tell me why she's after Everett, we can stop her. But she and you have to leave him alone. That's the only way," he said.
Almain laughed bitterly. "Why should I agree to that? He's the phoenix, one of the three great birds. Anyone who owns him immediately has their rank elevated and becomes untouchable."
"I'm going to warn you, Dupree. If you touch him, I won't rest until I kill you. Mark my words."
The fae man made a disturbing noise. "Thanks for the information, detective. It will be a pleasure to see you try."
The line went dead. Mail should be angry that someone was targeting Everett, but his wolf was at ease with it. He was more excited to have a potential hunt. If that was the case, he was going to enjoy this.
A hand landed on his shoulder, and calming sensations went through him. He tilted his head back to see Donovan behind him, eyes focused on his face. He could see the Alpha -the head wolf- staring back at him. He must have been slightly out of his mind for the Alpha wolf to rear its head. Or Mal had spiked its ire.
"What do we know?" he asked. There was a gravelly tone to Donovan's voice. He was still in control, but his wolf was dangerously close to the surface. His eyes were flashing too.
"It was his cell phone. It pinged off a tower in New Port," Carver confirmed. He frowned then looked at Mal. "Why would he call you?"
"He thought Everett was living there again. His scent is much stronger now than it had been. He wanted you to keep your wolves away from him," Mal explained. He sat back in his chair and twirled a pen around his fingers. "There's dissension in their ranks. Dupree said the woman wasn't listening and hinted at Everett as a trophy prize."
"She's hunting him to make a name for herself. What would she gain from it?" Donovan asked. He patted Mal's shoulder then stepped in front of him." "There's too much we don't know. I'll get in touch with Annaliese to see what she knows."
"If you can go to her domain, can I as well?" Mal asked. His tone was a little too excited.
Donovan looked at him. Even the mention of Annaliese had him thinking of Everett. The Alpha wasn't going to tell him they could all smell the change in him. They weren't sure what emotions would be the first to emerge so none of them had dared to bring it up. But they knew the relationship between the two had changed drastically.
He looked at Strictland and Carver. They would be the ones left behind if Mal went. He didn't want to leave them short handed if something happened.
"Let him go," Strictland said. "Astra, Domino and Kellam are still here. We should be fine." Kellam was Strictland's son-in-law. He'd come to the pack several years ago and had fallen for Strictland's youngest daughter. He was also a firefighter in Davenport.
Donovan nodded absently. He was contemplating everything as well as deciding who was better equipped to guard his wife. Like Mal, he had someone to protect and she was human. Claudia had grown up in the projects so she knew how to handle herself, but that didn't mean Donovan had to like it. He didn't want to bring hell down on her head anymore than he had to.
He looked at Mal. "I won't make any promises. We're walking into something we don't really know or understand. Everett could be very dangerous for us."
"I'd rather ask a ton of questions than not know anything," Mal argued.
He left it unspoken, but it was there. He'd rather know everything than to live like Everett did for so long. He couldn't live like that nor did he want to. It was one of the reasons he'd been hard on his other half.
Donovan nodded silently. He looked at Mal for one more long moment before he went back to his office. They watched him pick up the phone and make a call. He spoke for a long moment then looked up, nodding at Mal. It looked like they were going on a trip.
~~~~~~~
"It seems like Malcolm will be visiting with Donovan tomorrow."
Everett looked up from stuffing his face. After he and Bastian had returned to the fae realm, Mordecai had put him through the ringer. He'd been thrown in a pit of fire to see how long he could either stay or control the flames as they closed in on him. He was still slightly afraid of them, but he could now control them. Which he did fluently.
Then he had to balance on the flames with only his feet. That was when he cussed Mordecai severely. It had hurt, but he was tired damn it! Focusing on his feet like that meant he had to be extra careful. Letting his other senses dull could spell disaster.
True to his asshole tendencies, Mordecai had attacked him. He had a balance while the crazy mage had thrown everything at him. Somehow Everett had managed to fend them off and land several blows of his own. They weren't lethal but if he put enough power behind them they would've been. Unfortunately he needed the bastard for a bit more.
When he'd finally been released, Everett had been starving. He quickly showered and slipped into soft pajamas. Soon Bastian had shown up with a tray of food. The human dove headfirst into it, not bothering to ask if the fae was hungry. He assumed he wasn't since he was well after time for Annaliese's dinner, and Bastian always eats with her.
"It seems Almain Dupree is hunting you," Bastian continued. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched Everett polish off the fruit. "Did he not give you a break?"
Everett looked like a chipmunk as he shook his head. "No, I had to balance on my flames. I don't know what he wants, but I did the best I could. I feel like an anime character getting ready for a battle! Damn!"
"He probably wants you to focus until you have a small flame instead of a raging inferno."
"We'll, it flipping hurt." The young man sighed and pushed the empty tray away. "What does Dupree want? And don't say me."
Bastian shrugged. "All Donovan's letter said was he called the station telling him to call off his wolves. Malcolm advised him the wolves weren't theirs, but Dupree and his associates are still after you. They'll be coming for information on Dupree."
Everett sighed in annoyance then stretched out. "I have to meet with Mordecai tomorrow. I won't be able to meet with them."
"That's all right. I'll be there." The fae frowned at the young man's quizzical look. "What? You don't trust me?"
"It's not that. If Donovan comes, he's going to smell me and Mal on you. He's going to know about yesterday."
"Is it a bad thing?" Everett gave him a pointed look. "I don't see what the big deal is. I have permission to be with you as long as you ask. You also have Malcolm. It's not so hard to understand."
"It might not be a big deal to you, but to the werewolves it is. It's supposed to be male-female in their world. Now we're tossing in a fae lover into the mix. Donovan will understand, even Ezra and Carver. The others won't." He jerked his foot from Bastian's hand. "And thanks for making the decision for me."
Faster than he thought imaginable, Bastian had him pressed into the bed. His green eyes flashed as he stared down at him. Everett thought about fighting back, but he liked the fae and didn't want to hurt him. If he was going to act like this though, then it was clearly a mistake to invite him into his bed.
Bastian must have understood the look because he sat up, all his weight pressed on Everett's hips.
He dropped his hands to his knees and stared down at him. Everett saw several emotions flit through them, but he didn't dare ask. This was already too dangerous. He wasn't sure he would be able to fight back if one of those big hands started touching him.
"It's not unusual for a fae to have multiple lovers, and it's not frowned upon. You are not fae nor are you werewolf. You get to set your own standard," the fae said. "So don't lie to yourself just to make someone happy."
"Including you?" Everett asked.
"Especially me." Bastian rolled off and headed for the door. "I'll let you know what's said. Rest while you can."
Everett watched him disappear. His feelings must be hurt. He usually refused to leave his charge for longer than the time it took to go to the kitchens. But the young man had been honest. He wasn't sure how he felt about the fae. Not like he was sure about Mal. The pulls were much different.
Mal was there because he'd taken time to nurture a relationship with him. Even though sex was a constant, there was more to them than that. Everett could talk to the werewolf about anything and everything. He wasn't shy about any of it. He trusted Mal with everything he had. Bastian was new and it would take some time to make a decent relationship with him if Everett chose to do so.
Sighing, he clambered under the covers and let the exhaustion lull him away. He'd figure it out when he woke up