Insight

Flint walked into the athenaeum. It appeared to most like an old, unmaintained foundry. Very few knew about the room underneath. Eve called it a ‘secret library’ when Flint first told her about it. As the Alpha walked through the place he couldn’t help but think about his mate.

The first time she’d seen it, she’d stared around at the dusty, dark space as if there were treasures to discover. Flint bit his hand, allowing blood to flow over the signet ring on his finger. A memory overtook him.

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Eve watched closely as he allowed his blood to drop onto the signet ring’s face before he curled his hand into a fist. He placed his knuckles on the ground, pushing the ring into a small notch in the tile. A nearly mechanical sound resonated below her feet. Eve jumped back into the doorway, away from its vibrations.

Her mate smiled at her surprise as two of the large floor tiles lifted from their places. Flint slid them away with a large scraping sound, letting his mate know how heavy it was just from the noise. She took a side and helped him move one away, revealing a large dark hole in the floor. Eve closed the door to the small office and locked it, before turning to face Flint.

“What now?” Eve inquired quietly, peering into the absolute darkness below.

“We jump.” He answered her.

“I’m not jumping in there.” She crossed her arms and looked at him with bewilderment.

“Do you trust me?” Flint asked her, throwing out his hand.

He examined her. The light in her eyes answered him immediately, warming his entire body.

“With my life.” Eve sighed, laying her palm on his. “Are you sure about this?”

“Would I let you jump if I wasn’t?” He didn’t hesitate to leap into the opening, pulling his mate in with him.

They landed on a hard surface about seven feet below the first floor. Their dense bones absorbed the shock without issue. Eve clung to his hand in the blackness. She seemed afraid that if she let go, she would lose him. This made Flint grin as he pulled her closer to him.

In order to see in the dark, there must be some form of light somewhere. Yet, Eve couldn’t see anything shining in the pit.

“Light.” Flint’s voice echoed around them.

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“Light.” He stated after jumping into the darkness.

This time, Flint was alone as he approached the door. He swiped his keycard and opened the door. The dark space in front of him provoked more memories. These were somehow both sweeter and more painful.

"Light." He stated again.

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Eve released her grip on Flint’s hand, leaving emptiness within him. She walked into the middle of the room. The look on her face had him smiling again, without realizing it. Large wooden shelves lined the circular walls, Eve spun slowly to exam the round room’s every crevice.

Each shelf packed with books, files, and rolled scrolls. Her mind was dancing as she thought of all the information at her fingertips, all the books she could ever read, and all the things she could learn there. Flint could feel her curiosity and her child-like amazement. This alone made it impossible to tear his eyes away from her.

“It’s beautiful.” She breathed, her imagination captivated.

“If you like books.” He chuckled at the look of absolute wonder in her eyes.

“Who doesn’t love books?” She broke into a small smile, momentarily forgetting why they were there.

“Come on. We have some planning to do.” Flint walked over to the huge wooden table that sat heavily on the floor.

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Flint shook off the recollection. He walked to the table in the center of the room. The intricate carving on the wooden top was a map of the mountain. It ebbed and raised, portraying the mountain itself. Scattered across it were the materials he’s left upon his visit the previous week.

Eve had sent two notes to the pack house in the valley. Flint attributed the handwriting on the envelopes to the young woman with the colorful hair. She had to be the one who sent these for Eve. At least, that is what he would believe until someone explained otherwise.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Safe in the Shadows, Packing lightly.

Remember the winter, the sUn can’t reach the springtime.

- His little thing

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The first note had been deciphered already. Eve had left random words and letters capitalized. Flint knew Bastian’s rogues were calling themselves the Shadow pack. Eve had told him that much in their shared dream.

The note meant that she was safe for now among the shadow pack. ‘Packing lightly’ referred to the fact that all the members weren’t gathered, or that their numbers were small. Flint wasn’t sure which one was true.

Their pup was due in May. In spring. This explained the last lines. Their son wouldn’t live to see his birth, if something wasn’t done. The power was threatening her. However, she seemed to have found a solution in her next note. She'd signed both with the name his wolf had given her. Little thing.

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Temporary solutions are no solutions at all.

Some, however, are better than none.

The dreams I have are Creeping by, they say to drink the Tea.

I don’t know why, but I still try, Stonecrop can’t grow dry.

- His little thing

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The solution was temporary, she'd said so plainly. Flint had the feeling that whatever it was, it wasn't entirely effective. The second line meant that until Flint had the vine, he needed to leave her with Bastian. The enemy had, at least, a temporary solution. Flint had none.

The third and fourth lines were what Flint had been parsing through books to decipher. 'Creeping' was capitalized, seemingly without reason, as was the word 'Tea'. It had to be a tea of some sort. That was the easy part.

Creeping, on the other hand, could mean anything. Stonecrop also didn't need to be capitalized, but it was. Flint had already looked up the various stonecrop strains and what they could be used to do. There were many kinds. The Alpha walked back over to the shelf containing books on herbology.

He grabbed the Encyclopedia of Perennials off the bottom shelf. He began looking for the word 'stonecrop' through yet another thick tome. Flint sat tiredly in the chair at the head of the massive table. After a while, a word caught his eye. Creeping.

It was attached to a description of a plant that hadn't been ingested in ages. There were no relevant medical uses for it. Still, Flint felt like he'd found what he was looking for.

"Creeping sedum..." He read the term out loud.

Flint searched through the books on the table that he'd already skimmed. There was nothing about creeping sedum and how it interacted with wolves, let alone pregnant Lunas. He glanced over another useless page, but he paused before turning it.

It said that rogues in the valley had developed their own treatments to Lycan problems. They didn't know as much about their physiology and they had little to no access to such information. Flint pulled out his cell phone. Before he could talk himself out of calling, he dialed a number.

The line rang several times before a curious, deep voice answered the call.

"Drake Hunter. Who is this?" He probed.

"Alpha Flint Dolan. Is that how you answer the phone?" He shook his head.

"Yes. What about it?" Drake asked quickly.

"Use your title. It'll make others use it. Words are powerful." Flint explained.

"Right." He paused. "Why are you calling me? Treaty trouble? I already told your cute, little assistant that I don't know what happened to your Luna. None of my pack do."

"Keep your eyes off my assistant." He sighed heavily. "I just need some information. It's rogue business."

"We aren't rogues anymore, remember?" Drake grunted.

"Still, it's about a medicine used by the rogues. You're pack will know more about it than mine, I'm sure of it." Flint shrugged as he spoke.

"We're even now that the treaty is done. I don't owe you anything." He stated.

The StarLight Alpha inhaled through his nose slowly and deeply. He gathered his restraint for when he spoke again.

"Eve was the one that made the treaty happen. She's the one that convinced me to try to reach Star's wolf, even if her blood was diluted." Flint reminded him. "Without my Luna, your people would still be in the valley. Under the thumb of the mountain."

"This is for her?" Drake eventually asked.

"Yes." Flint's tone was firm.

"What's the medicine called?" The rogue Alpha sighed.

"It's some kind of treatment, not really a medicine. Creeping sedum tea. Ever heard of it?" He waited for an answer anxiously.

"Creeping sedum tea..." His sentence trailed away. "No. It sounds familiar, but I don't know it. I'll ask around."

"Do it fast. Time is of the essence." Flint heaved an exasperated breath.

"Understood. As soon as I know something, I'll call." Drake replied.