Intuition

Flint arrived at the pack house in the valley to meet with Anna. When he arrived, he parked in front of the garage. As he opened the door, the wind shifted. A scent caught his attention and sent goosebumps up his spine. Eve.

It was faint and faded, but there none the less. He sprung out the the car, leaving the door open behind him. Flint took a few steps and recognized where the smell was coming from. He opened the mailbox and retrieved three envelopes from inside. One was an offer for satellite television, which he threw down.

The next envelope had no return address on it and was written on with unfamiliar, feminine handwriting. The postmark was from a few weeks ago. Flint opened it immediately and inhaled the scent.

He was right. It was Eve. He pulled out a folded piece of paper. The bubbly lettering of the short note made him smile. It belonged to the delicate hand of his mate.

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

Safe in the Shadows, Packing lightly.

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

- His little thing

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

The signature left no doubt in his mind. Little thing was the name his wolf had given her upon seeing her. The hardened, vicious Alpha couldn’t believe that he could be so effected by such a little thing. Such a delicate, beautiful thing.

Before he had time to process the strange poem, Flint glanced at the other envelope and his heartbeat accelerated once more. The same unfamiliar, feminine writing and again there was no return address. The postmark was from just a few days ago. He opened it hastily and again, his gaze was met with Eve’s bubbly, girlish lettering.

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

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

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

Flint smiled for a moment before furrowing his brow and rereading the note. Eve was sending him clues, he just had to decipher them. He entered the house and began pacing as he studied the letters. A few minutes into his examination, Anna entered.

“Alpha.” She greeted him.

“Anna, take a seat.” He gestured to the couch.

Flint sat in the chair across from her and handed her the notes.

“What do you make of these?” He probed.

“They smell like Luna Eve. The writing is spot on for her.” Anna answered confidently.

“Exactly. I shared a dream with Eve a while ago. It was after the first note. This one.” Flint pointed to it. “I know what this means.”

The specialist looked at him curiously.

“The first line is about Bastian’s rogues. Remember, I told you they call themselves the Shadow Pack. I think she said ‘packing lightly’ to tell me their numbers were thin. That lines up with what she told me in the dream.” He explained.

“And the next part?” Anna probed.

“The ‘U’ in sun is capitalized. It wasn’t a mistake, it was done on purpose. Eve was telling me that she and our son will be dead by spring. She’s due in May.” Flint stated in a gruff, stiff tone.

She grew quiet and nodded. She, like the rest of the pack, could sense the well of pain and panic inside the Alpha. After several seconds, she had to break the silence.

“This signature is strange. Another clue?” She asked.

“No.” Flint shook his head. “Eve was just making sure I would know it was her. It’s personal.”

“Alright. Let’s look at the other one.” Anna read the second note again.

“She’s found a temporary solution to something.” Flint sighed and ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back.

“It’s like a treatment and not a cure. Something suggests it’s not working entirely.” Anna pondered quietly.

The Alpha rose from his chair abruptly, drawing Anna’s surprised gaze.

“What did you just say?” Flint’s mind was moving too fast for him to process all his thoughts at once.

“Something about it just seems like it’s not-”

“Before that.” He waved her off.

“It’s like a treatment, not a cure.” She repeated her earlier thought.

“A cure... A cure like the winter jade vine?” He pondered aloud.

“You mean the power surges. She’s found a solution. For now.” Anna nodded.

“A half-ass solution, from sound of things.” Flint agreed.

“This next part is confusing. But there are random capital letters in these lines too.” She acknowledged.

“I know. Creeping, tea, and stonecrop.” He nodded.

“We need to do more research on these words and their combinations.” Anna again read over the notes.

“I’ll do that. These are going to be your focus.” Flint slid an envelope toward her.

“Post marks.” She nodded.

“Yes. They were both stamped in the Aurora county post office. This has to get you closer to finding Kirkwood.” He explained.

“Yes, Alpha.” Anna stood.

“Did you coordinate with Peter?” He probed.

“Yes. He’s still tracking. No leads yet.” She answered.

“Keep me informed.” Flint nodded.

Anna turned to leave but the Alpha stood, drawing her attention.

“You’re the top specialist warrior at HQ and you have several years experience.” He stated.

“Yes, Alpha.” Anna nodded.

“Why didn’t you join the Beta tournament? I granted anyone on duty leave for their rounds.” Flint was curious.

“I like my job, Alpha. I wouldn’t want to leave it, even for a promotion.” She answered after a moment of thought.

“Hm.” He nodded, satisfied by her answer. “Check in on the same schedule as before.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Anna exited the pack house.

Flint hadn’t expected the specialist to have an update for him that was fruitful. After all, he heard from her every other day. The letters from Eve had taken over his every thought since the moment he discovered them. He was determined to figure out the meaning behind the odd poems his mate had sent him.

If anyone could say everything and nothing all at once, it was Eve. There was enough meaning behind the message that she had risked everything to somehow get the information to him. Flint recognized that, he just needed to figure out what his Luna was trying to tell him.