Insight

The tents were set up an secured in the woods surrounding the cliff. They remained concealed from the humans on the road and the wolves at the cabin. No fires were lit, so as not to give away their positions. Meals were cooked on hot plates or delivered by Anna, while the area was lit by battery powered lanterns.

Flint was looking around as everyone got settled, trying to get a sense of their numbers. There were nearly twenty of them. Though, upon taking in their faces... Flint realized some weren't warriors at all. Some were civilians. And some were very unexpected.

"Flint." A high-pitched voice chirped, startling him.

"Ellie?" He looked at her, confused.

"Of course. Duncan came by to talk to Austin. He was taking up volunteers to come get Evie. Did you think I wouldn't come?" She replied easily.

"I appreciate that. I'm sure Eve does too but... You aren't exactly a fighter." Flint replied.

"I'm from Acres. I can hold my own as well as any level three warrior. Besides, I'm here. And you can't really turn down the help." Ellie stated.

"Hey." The Alpha waved over another familiar face. "You aren't a warrior either. Why did you come?"

"What did you want me to do, Alpha?" Blair approached.

"You could get hurt. Both of you." He gestured to the women in front of him.

"I'm here to play whatever role I'm needed to be in. I'm not a warrior... But I'm here to be of use. Anyway I can." The young assistant replied.

"You guys wouldn't leave any of us behind. You both deserve our help, so you have it." Ellie stated.

"I..." Flint shook his head. "Thank you."

They nodded and walked in separate directions. Flint continued to examine the soldiers. Roger Kern grabbed his attention. The Alpha approached him, looking over his newly healed body. The warrior saw him and waved over two other familiar StarLight wolves.

Alice Fall was in a leg brace from the night Flint tore into it. Silas Byers had scars across his cheek bone that Flint knew were permanent. He also knew they'd been caused by his claws. These were the warriors that he'd attacked the night of the Calling. Their presence puzzled Flint.

"Alpha." Roger greeted him.

"How are you?" He looked at the others.

"My brace won't be needed when I have four legs, Alpha." Alice assured him.

"My jaw wires came off days ago, sir. I'm more than ready for a fight." Silas nodded.

"Lewis and Ronald wanted to come as well but their injures would make them liabilities. We refused to bring them. The three of us are ready, Alpha." Roger stated.

Flint looked confused and the mindlink betrayed that. The warriors sighed and met gazes as they gathered their thoughts.

"You can trust us, Alpha. We're responsible for what happened to Luna Eve. We know, but we're here to help. We won't screw it up this time." Silas spoke first.

"We want to prove ourselves, Alpha. Since Luna was taken..." Alice's sentence trailed away.

"We let down Luna Eve and you, Alpha. By doing that, we failed StarLight as a whole." Roger explained.

"Your debts have been paid. I've told you all; Bastian would have gotten to her. If not at the house, then somewhere else." Flint stated.

"No. We failed. You lashed out, true. But we still failed. We want to do this. We have to." Roger spoke firmly.

"Thank you for coming, after everything. It's appreciated." The Alpha acknowledged.

He turned toward the feeling of his father's stare. Duncan, Elijah, and Elkin were seated in folding chairs by a couple large tents. Flint approached them, sitting in the empty chair beside the doctor.

"I didn't know you came." He stated.

"I almost didn't. Joshua convinced me." Elkin answered.

"Then why are you here?" Flint offered him a half-smile.

"I owe it to my patient." The old man grumbled. "And my pack."

The Alpha chuckled.

"So, what are their numbers?" Duncan asked.

"I've only seen fourteen. There were half that many just days ago, but Bastian called for back up. He knows we're coming." Flint answered, watching the moon rise in the sky.

"That's not good." The commander replied.

"He would know as soon as I got close anyway. He's been watching for me, waiting for me." He stated.

"There are nineteen of us, including us and the doctor." Duncan informed him.

"Twenty, actually." Elijah interjected.

"Did I forget someone?" The commander asked.

"Yes." He replied. "You forgot my wife, Selena."

"Mom?" Flint drew his gaze.

"That's right, boy. You didn't think she'd leave you on your own, did you?" Elijah smirked.

"Where is she?" Flint began to glance around.

"She's not here. I gave her a different job." He sighed.

"Can I ask... What job?" Elkin probed.

"She's the distraction. Bastian won't be able to read her link, so she won't give anything away that she doesn't intend to." Elijah explained.

"They're outnumbered already. Having them distracted can only help us." Duncan nodded.

"True. Still, don't be over-confident. The Shadow wolves aren't amateurs. They're experienced rogues. I've seen them train. Underestimating them would be a mistake." Flint informed them.

The circle of men nodded pensively.

"Where were you planning to approach?" Duncan eventually broke the silence.

"The east. The back yard is where the warriors train. I wanted to get them in the side woods, so they wouldn't have as much experience in the area. But with more of us, the south east would probably provide more cover." Flint replied.

"So the back yard becomes the battle ground anyway." Elijah nodded.

"Any suggestions?" The Alpha asked.

"No. Sounds like we have no choices." His father answered.

"And numbers... The doctor can't rush in with us." Flint noted. "Neither can Blair or Ellie."

"Ellie?" Duncan probed.

"Ellie Wyatt, she just married one of your new warriors from GraySky. She hasn't trained in years and she isn't ready." Flint answered.

"Why did she come then?" Elijah grunted curiously.

"Eve's best friend since childhood. She wants to fight but she can't get hurt out there. Eve would never forgive me." He sighed.

"So, what will we be doing?" Elkin asked.

"You and the girls will have to skirt around the battle to get to the cabin. Go after Eve directly, if you get the chance. If not, hang back. The Shadow wolves won't hesitate to kill you, whether you fight back or not." Flint stated knowingly.