Insight

Flint left the arena, waiting to hear the results of the meeting from the elders. He made his way to headquarters with a mind full of thoughts. Even the radio was agitating to him. He turned it off, unable to listen to another note of the supposedly soothing tune. His wolf was snarling in his mind.

We're on our own. They won't help us. The beast grunted.

We don't know that for sure. Flint grimaced.

They weren't even looking to us for leadership. They look to the suspicious one. The animal growled in return. If they need his approval, we don't want them.

Flint slung the SUV into the parking lot. He was frustrated and the rhetoric coming from the white wolf wasn't helping. He went to his office and turned on the television. The party that had been held at the cabin the night before was gone.

Now, as the sun was setting, there seemed to be no one outside. Flint sighed and searched the mindlink for his mate. She was there. The fog covering her wolf was thinner. Much thinner. Still, all he could feel was her tiredness. Flint continued to stare at the screen, hoping to see her. As he paced around the coffee table, his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket.

"Alpha Flint Dolan." He answered the call.

A feeling of uncertainty and somber decision making came through the mindlink. Flint's muscles tightened as his wolf began turning in angry circles. The results were in, and they didn't seem to be positive.

"As a whole... No. Most don't believe Eve can be saved without losses." Joshua replied.

The Alpha hung up the phone. He threw it at the wall and it broke into pieces. He was alone. He would have to get Eve without the support of the pack. The sight of the cabin from the video stream wasn't comforting any longer. The image was gnawing at him. The desk phone rang and he grabbed it angrily.

"Yes?" He asked sharply.

"We're on the way with the beans." Johnny's voice replied.

"Bring them to me, not Green Tree. I won't be here." Flint responded.

"Where will you be?" The warrior asked.

"The cliff." The Alpha hung up the phone and walked to the elevator.

He had spent so much time trying to keep it together for the pack that he refused to do it another minute. In his mind, by abandoning Eve to her fate, Starlight had turned its back on them both. Once he stood beside the SUV, he unceremoniously stripped his clothes.

The white wolf ran toward the foothills. The trees around him were ones he knew well. Still, even their familiarity was upsetting to Flint. He had trusted this place, this pack, like they were his family. Even when he screwed something up or hurt someone, Flint always knew that the pack stood with him. His mistakes were their mistakes. His failures and successes were theirs too. That's what it meant to be Alpha.

Still, he wasn't without understanding. To risk the lives of the many in order to save a single one... It wasn't rational. They wanted time to plot and plan. They wanted assurances; the kind that he would never be able to give them. They didn't trust him to lead them into a fight. Not since the Call and his actions afterward. Flint understood that too.

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Night crept over the cabin. Eve hadn't had the energy to run in two days. Her wolf had been dormant. As her the cloud in her mind began to dissipate, the Luna was overcome with suspicions. The only time she'd felt such thick fog in her mind, was when she'd been given monkshood.

Bastian insisted that he didn't give her anything but Eve couldn't believe him. Something inside told her not to. Perhaps it was just her lack of trust in anything Bastian told her. She remained suspicious of him, even if she kept most of these thoughts to herself. He hadn't tried to give her any sedum tea, making her feel less trapped by him. A little less.

Still, Eve knew there were more explanation for the sensations. The power had made her dizzy before, this could have just been a prolonged experience. Her wolf had also been using a mountain of energy, it made sense that she would need to sleep. The length of time was bothersome.

The wolf complained about being trapped upon waking. She claimed that monkshood had placed her in a cage, where as her most recent experience felt more like a heavy blanket. It weighed on her and urged the she-beast to rest. The animal found it frustrating but when she did manage to awaken completely, she felt more like herself... Much to Eve's relief.

As the sky gradually got darker, the Shadow pack gathered in the living room. The longer Eve spent with the rogues, the more she got to know their habits and traditions. Music was important to them. It was always playing in the house and blaring in the outside. Bastian, himself, had a CD collection that he claimed could rival any.

It was proudly displayed on a large bookcase by the door. The shelves were covered in stacks of plastic, square cases. There were several bulky cases made of canvas and nylon. They were so well used that the corners and zippers were slightly frayed. The walls were plain and there were no photos hanging. The furniture was worn and didn't match in style or age.

Eve sat in a chair beside the bookshelf. She was looking over the CDs. Bastian had a little music from every genre, even some by artists the Luna had never heard of. Onyx was sitting on the floor in front of Eve. The teenager was flipping through the clear pages of one of her brother's cases.

Felix was beside the radio in a recliner with Leigh on his lap. Callie and Tyler were on the couch. They were debating fighting strategies. The conversation made it obvious that they were evenly matched. Scott and Darren were seated in the floor in the center of the room. They were playing cards but it seemed like Scott always won.

Onyx stood and stretched. She walked over to the radio on the table and put in in new album. Poppy rock music began to pour from the speakers as she went into the kitchen. Bastian had been grinding meat for a while. He stood at the counter, turning to greet his adopted sister with a nod.

"You've been in here forever. Did you buy a whole cow?" She asked as she grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"Enough for Evie to eat for a couple days, and for us to make burgers this week." Bastian smirked. "Have you cut on the karaoke machine yet?"

"Nope. We've been waiting for you." She shrugged and took a sip of her drink.

Onyx noticed a glass jar of something. It looked like a purple and green plant that had been crushed. She reached of it, examining it with interest.

"Well, take a case of beer in there and get it going. I'll be right there." Bastian took the jar from her hand and placed it back on the counter.

It seemed like a casual gesture but Onyx furrowed her brows anyway. She knew that if Bastian was trying to act nonchalant on purpose, he was clearly hiding something.

"Fine." Onyx sighed and opened the fridge again.

She grabbed a case of beer and turned to leave. However, she paused in the doorway. She watched silently as Bastian bagged up the ground beef. He spooned some into a bowl and grabbed a lemon off the counter. After adding some juice to it he sprinkled in the strange plant powder.

Onyx walked into the living room and sat the beer in the center. After instructing Darren to turn on the karaoke machine, she returned to the kitchen. Bastian was squatted in front of the fridge. He was busy moving containers around to make room for the beef he'd just packaged. Onyx glanced from his back to the bowl on the counter.

The teenager moved quickly and quietly. She dumped the bowl of meat into the trash and hastily opened one of the bags. After scooping some fresh meat into the bowl, she resealed the bag and left. She didn't know what Bastian was doing, but she didn't like it.

The rogue Alpha returned a moment later, carrying the bowl. He brought it to Eve, who thanked him. Onyx glanced into the kitchen as she passed by to turn off the radio. The glass jar was gone, rising her suspicions further.