Insight

Eve’s disappearance was having effects on GraySky pack as well. Alpha Jay had always been protective of his younger sister. As had his father and mother. Now, they couldn’t protect her. They couldn’t save her. It was up to Flint. Who, by all accounts, had been absent from the Alpha position for a while.

Clark had tried to plot Flint’s assassination with a man going by the name ‘Candor’. Candor turned out to be Bastian. Flint executed him publicly. When Graham left to bury his father in the valley, Duncan Green took over the Beta position. In Flint’s absence, the commander was forced to deal with Alpha Jay.

GraySky had been searching the valley for Eve so ruthlessly that they were quickly approaching the point where their kind would be exposed to the humans. That or deaths of innocent rogues was surely upcoming. In an attempt to ease them without confrontation with Jay, Flint ordered all StarLight warriors out of the valley.

This left GraySky to contend with only StarLight trackers. This decision did not bolster Jay’s belief in Flint. In fact, it had done the opposite. He didn’t understand why Flint wasn’t searching high and low for his mate. He simply didn’t see the reasonings behind his decisions and he didn’t trust Flint enough to blindly follow his lead.

Still, the recklessness of the searches GraySky conducted had lessened. But so did their belief that Eve could be found in the valley. Flint knew where Eve was. He also knew that he shouldn’t tell Alpha Jay.

If GraySky knew where she was, they would storm the cabin to get her. There would be no stopping them. Even if that wasn’t what was best for Eve. Duncan was aware of both sides of the argument, having been squarely placed between the Alpha families during his time as acting Beta.

Now that Graham was returning to his job, all concerns from other packs should have gone through him. Yet, Duncan was still receiving phone calls from Eve’s family. It turned out; Jay trusted Graham even less than Flint did.

“Commander Duncan.” He answered his ringing phone as he drove toward the training arena.

“It’s Becca.” Eve’s mother replied.

“Hello, Mrs. Adams.” Duncan stifled a tired sigh.

“I need an update. Anything you can tell me.” She stated.

“I don’t have anything new. I’m sorry. Everything we know, Alpha Jay knows.” He felt guilty about lying to her when she sounded so concerned.

“Jay says Flint’s back at HQ. If that’s true, why can’t I reach him? What’s going on?” Becca probed.

Duncan hesitated to answer. Even to him, his Alpha’s actions were a mystery.

“He’s not okay... Is he?” She eventually broke the silence between them.

“No, ma’am. I don’t think he is.” The commander admitted as he pulled into a parking space. “He’ll be alright. He’s working really hard to find Luna Eve. I promise. He’s just focused on that right now.”

“If things get any worse for him, call me. We’re still his family. I’m worried about him too.” Becca stated.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll keep that in mind.” Duncan nodded.

“Thank you, commander.” She replied.

After hanging up, he took a deep breath. The tension in the pack had been rising and everyone in the mindlink was aware of it. They could all feel it. It was no wonder that Becca had heard about it.

Duncan climbed out of the truck and entered the arena. Blair scurried passed him on her way to the parking lot. The commander examined her. She was often seen as a shadow to the Alpha couple. Since becoming their assistant, the young woman was constantly rushing around.

Blair had brown hair and tan skin. Her dark eyes were clever and warm while her face clearly portrayed her youth. Duncan wanted to be suspicious of everyone who had gotten close to the Alpha and Luna in the past year. Yet, he couldn’t find any reason to suspect Blair. She was loyal to them. Even her mindlink expressed her belief in Flint, and her worry for Eve.

Blair had been given a difficult task that week. Elijah had, again, taken a few minutes to search the Dolan manor for anything that could be of use. He had given her Eve’s journal. As much as she didn’t want to read it; she was ordered to.

She respected Eve so much, and disrespecting her privacy was the last thing Blair wanted. She skipped over the stories about the couple that made her blush. She resigned to never speak of, or think, of these things again.

However, while watching the warriors practice, she had found something of interest. Blair called Elijah, who told her to come to his office at HQ. It took a few minutes for her to walk there but soon enough, she was knocking on the door.

“Enter.” Elijah’s deep voice emerged.

Blair opened the door and stepped in. She had seen the Elder’s office before, but not often. The tan walls had no adornments. Just a few shelves behind the large, black desk. The slim, dark shelving had a few sporadic objects and a small stack of books on them.

Elijah raised his piercing green eyes to look her over. From the silver lacing its way through the dark hair over his ears, to the slender black cane in his hand... He was intimidating. Not more so than Flint, just different. Elijah had always seemed somehow colder to her.

“Well?” Elijah raised an eyebrow at her expectantly.

“Nothing related to Luna or her kidnapping. But...” Blair let her sentence trail away nervously.

“But, what? Speak.” He demanded.

“I found something else. I know it’s not what you told me to find, but I didn’t know who else to tell. Alpha doesn’t know you gave me the diary, so-”

“For goddess’ sake, girl.” Elijah sighed heavily. “Just say what you found.”

“I found the number for a burner phone. It’s unregistered but Luna wrote it down as Selena’s phone number. There’s an address for her too. It’s in the valley.” Blair blurted.

Elijah froze in place for a moment. Selena. He had been fighting the urge to think of her every day since she’d abandoned him. He felt the empathetic gaze of the young woman and he quickly stood from his seat, regaining his composure.

He extended his hand to her silently. Blair stepped toward him and gave him a note with the information on it. Elijah stared at the folded piece of paper, not daring to open it. He gripped his cane tightly and cleared his throat, before turning his hard gaze back to Blair.

“Take the diary back to the manor. I found it in the bottom drawer of the small dresser in the master bedroom.” Elijah ordered.

“Yes, sir.” Blair turned to leave, but paused, before glancing tentatively over her shoulder. “Can I do anything for you?”

Elijah furrowed his brows as he scanned the young woman with his eyes. He could feel her genuine concern for him and his son. Her link to the pack said everything. He released a frustrated breath, deciding not to lash out at her.

“I’m fine, girl. Go.” He nodded stiffly to the door behind her.

Once she’d left, he retook his seat. The note in his hand was haunting for many reasons. On one level, he wanted to find her. His mate, his wife, the mother of his only child. Selena. On another level, he knew she didn’t want to be found. Elijah wasn’t sure if giving her the time and space she wanted was the correct course of action.

His wolf demanded he at least try to locate her, if only to see her alive and well with his own eyes. He slowly unfolded the small paper and stared at the writing in front of him. Elijah’s chest felt empty. He didn’t know what to do with the information in his grasp. At this point, he didn’t know what Selena would want him to do with it.