It wasn’t until around ten that the boys left the Emporium. Hayden still had to do some work on the neutralizer, but she assured the boys it would be ready before school on Monday. Till then, they just had to lay low. Preferably as far from any of the Wiker pack as possible.

After debating where would be the safest place, they decided that Ed’s house was best to hole themselves up in, since it was the furthest from town and therefore the pack. Sebastian already messaged his parents that he’d be staying over with Edmund for the night and Ed texted his dad that it would be the three of them for dinner, so they drove straight there from the Emporium.

The quiet stretch of road between the town and house was as isolated as always. The trees seemed like they could go on forever and the silence between the boys seemed to only grow thicker with each one they passed.

“Okay, we both want to talk, so let’s just get it out in the open,” Sebastian finally said.

Normally, the silence between them was comfortable. They didn’t need to talk when they could just be with one another. Right now, though, there seemed to be too much to talk about.

Edmund sighed. “You’re right.”

“Always. Now, where do you think we’ll go?”

“Come again?”

“From my point of view, your only option right now is to relocate and join a pack. And I know you don’t want to leave me; I’m not even suggesting that. Wherever you go, I’ll go too. Simple as that.”

“You’re talked about completely moving our lives to a new town, how is that simple, Bas?”

“Okay, so it’s probably going to be a lot harder than we think, but you are not training to fight a pack of werewolves just to stay here.”

“I thought you liked it ‘here’.”

“Of course, I do, it’s my hometown. That doesn’t mean it’s worth you fighting an army.”

“Well, I like it here.”

“Eddie-”

“Bas-”

“Please don’t. I can’t...” Sebastian sighed, “I don’t want you to fight anyone. You could get seriously hurt or worse. And for what?”

“Our home. I know I’m being unreasonable, but have you ever imagined living anywhere else.”

“...No.”

Edmund nodded. “Neither have I. This town, my family’s house, it’s where I’ve always imagined growing old and having my own family to raise. Do you remember how much fun we used to have? We had the freedom of running around the entire property with next to no adult supervision.”

Sebastian hummed. “I remember getting lost most of the time. If it wasn’t for you, I’d have probably died in these woods.”

Ed chuckled. “Exactly. Can you imagine how disastrous it would be if we moved and I couldn’t get us home again?”

“We’ll need a GPS.”

“You can’t just replace me with a GPS.”

“Of course not. GPSs don’t give decent cuddles.”

“Is that all I am to you? A map and a teddy bear.”

“Eh. You’re also a decent baker and chaffer.”

Edmund laughed properly at that and Sebastian joined him. After their laughter dissolved, a much more comfortable silence settled between the pair.

“Bas, I don’t think we’re going to agree on what to do just yet.”

“Me neither. We have time though.” Sebastian smiled. “And no matter what, we’ll be together.”

Edmund smiled too. “Yeah.”

Just as they came to this conclusion, Edmund’s home came into view. The old orange-red bricks and russet roof were faded with age, but still standing as sturdy as the day they’d been built. The car outside and the lights indoors indicated that Ed’s father was already home. Trying to cook something if the bit of smoke coming from the kitchen window was any indication. Ed and Seb exchanged a concerned glance then quickly made their way inside.

“Dad? Are you okay?”

“Edmund? Welcome back!” Garret greeted as he emerged from the kitchen. “Hello to you too, Sebastian. Sorry about the smoke. I was trying to make pasta.”

Sebastian nodded. “What exactly did you burn.”

“The pasta,” Garret sighed. “Only the pasta though. The kitchen is still okay. For the most part. You two okay with sandwiches instead?”

Ed chuckled. “That sounds fine, dad. Need any help?”

“Nah, you boys can just relax while I put them together. I can manage at least that.”

The teens nodded and went to watch TV while they waited for dinner. Once Garret joined them with a plateful of sandwiches, they had finally settled on a movie to watch while they ate. Ultimately though, it acted more like white noise while the three talked about other things.

“Hey, Ed, where were you last night?” Garret asked.

Sebastian did his best to subtly glance over at Edmund, who had tensed up at the unexpected question.

“Your truck was outside but you weren’t in the house this morning.”

“Ah, I went for a walk and, just, sort of ended up sleeping out under the stars,” Ed lied. He had camped out often before so he hoped his dad would believe him and just drop it.

“Oh. Well, maybe you shouldn’t do that anymore.”

“Why?”

“It's nothing to worry about, I’m sure, but the station has been getting quite a few complaints lately about wolves of all things.”

Sebastian exchanged a look with Ed and then asked, “Are there any wolves around here?”

Garret shrugged. “I don’t ever remember there being any. It was probably some stray dog, but those are just as dangerous. I don’t want you boys to worry but at least keep an eye out for anything odd, yeah?”

“Yeah, we’ll keep an eye out,” Edmund agreed.

He gave Sebastian one final look that said they were going to talk about it later, and for the rest of the movie Seb couldn’t help his mind wandering. Because, honestly, why would there be sightings now? Especially considering Ed’s sighting. There had to be something more to it. And he had a sinking feeling that they’d end up in the middle of it...