Intuition

In 1990, Jim and Rose Lawler’s nine year old son was killed. He was been mauled in the forest when they were on a camping trip. The couple was devastated. They were determined to find the rogue that murdered their child.

Their Alpha, Skylar Adams, told them not to act. He claimed the warriors would find the culprit and he would be punished accordingly. Days turned to weeks, which quickly became a month. Jim disobeyed the direct order he’d been given, and he went to search for the murderer himself.

However, he got too emotional when interviewing a couple of half-breeds in the valley. He shifted forms and killed them both. Rose tried to help him cover up the crime but it was discovered by human authorities. Not knowing anything about the Lycans on the mountain, they assumed wolves were migrating closer to Summerville.

A cull was issued in which humans were granted permission to go up the mountain and kill whatever wolves they saw. This led to the deaths of two GraySky trackers and three veteran warriors. Along with six StarLight deaths, four NorthWood deaths, and three SilverCrest deaths.

Skylar, who was already an experienced Alpha at that time, had no other choice than to take action. He found out that the Lawler family killed the half-breeds and was forced to punish them. He could have killed them, the other Alphas wanted him to do just that.

However, Skylar understood the reasoning behind their crimes. He cast them out of the pack and sent them to live in the valley as rogues. In 2002, Jim got a letter from a new foundation named Stardust Hope. They were offering help to rogue wolves and half-breeds in the valley. After just two meetings, they were contacted by an anonymous woman through the foundation.

There was an orphan who had been exiled from his pack and needed a home. The reasons behind his punishment were a mystery but the couple immediately decided to take him in. This was when they were delivered a twelve year old, fully bred wolf with shaved, blonde hair and very dark eyes. Bastian Anderson.

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Eve lay on the bed in the room she’d been given within Bastian’s small cabin. Fatigue, and possibly the sedative in her system, made her need to rest as soon as she arrived. Bastian had brought her to this room and left her.

She had taken advantage of the lock on the doorknob, even though she knew that even a pup could have busted it open. When she awoke from her uneasy slumber, she examined the place more closely.

There were iron bars on the window and from the amount of sunlight outside, Eve assumed it to be around six o’clock in the evening. The bed she’d slept in was on a simple metal frame and was covered in a two wool blankets with different flower patterns on them.

There was no closet in the room but there was a bookshelf with several mystery novels on it. The majority of the shelves were empty. There was a green lamp on the nightstand, whose drawers were empty. The shade of the tan painted on the walls was starting to irritate Eve.

She turned to the window again but all she could see for miles around were trees. She didn’t even know what providence she was in. She had slept for most of the way and she wasn’t sure how far they’d traveled. Eve focused on the feeling of Flint in her chest. He was alive. His heart was beating alongside her own.

A knock fell on her door. It was light and quiet. Eve sighed and braced herself for another mental battle. She opened the door to see Bastian with a canvas bag in his hand.

“You’re awake.” He smiled at her and entered the room.

Eve didn’t answer. She simply stared at him, unmoving.

“Relax, Evie. I brought you some stuff.” He sat on the bed and tossed her the bag.

She furrowed her brow and opened it. There were a few stretchy pairs of pants and a couple large, female t-shirts. A hairbrush, toothbrush, deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, a few pairs of socks, and a pack of new, unopened underwear.

“Where did all this come from?” She sat the bag on an empty shelf on the bookcase.

“Onyx. You saw her on the porch.” Bastian answered.

Eve thought back to the rogues she’d seen. There was a male and female. They both smelled like fully bred wolves. The young woman had a childlike face and large hazel eyes. She’d dyed her hair a lilac purple color and streaked her long curls with powder blue. She was short and thin. She couldn’t have been more than eighteen, if that old.

The man seemed to be in his early thirties and he wore a large pair of sunglasses over his brown eyes. He wore camouflage pants and a black t-shirt. His skin tone was copper and his expression was more curious than anything else. The girl, now known as Onyx, hadn’t met Eve’s gaze when she passed.

“And the other one?” She probed.

“Tyler. He’s another member of my pack.” Bastian nodded.

“There’s that word again. What pack?” Eve asked with interest.

“Mine. There are fourteen of us. There were seventeen of us but, as you already know, Randy and Denise were killed. Then Norman turned his back on us.” He stated.

Eve recalled the sound of Denise’s screams and the taste of Randy’s blood. Yes, she knew they had been killed. She’d played an integral part in the murders.

“Norman, Randy’s father. ” Eve nodded, trying to cover the look of guilt off her face. “Why did he turn on you?”

“Well, I stopped by the Taylor family campsite last year and sent Briar exploring the woods. Randy put two and two together. He saw me. I left. Then Briar disappeared.” Bastian’s tone was nonchalant, nearly bored. “He wanted to blame me but he had no proof I’d done anything. Then when they turned up dead, Norman saw me as a threat. He bailed.”

“How can you put a pack together? You were all-”

“Exiled? Cast out? Excommunicated? Yeah, we know.” Bastian finished her thought.

“Well, then how?” Eve sat on the wooden chair by the window, watching her captor.

“I’ll explain, I promise. But first, tell me how you’re feeling. Are you hungry or anything?” He sighed.

“I feel like you threw something in my face and kidnapped me. I feel like my mate is panicking in GreenTree and losing control. I feel like tearing you apart but I’m too weak to do it right now. I-” She took a deep breath to stop her rambling.

“When was the last time you ate?” He asked calmly.

“Eleven o’clock last night. I can’t eat anything but meat and lately even that makes me nauseous.” She answered in a frustrated tone.

“Do you need any medicine for that?” Bastian probed as he sat up curiously.

“I’m fine, Punchy. Just explain. How did you make your own pack?” Eve spoke in a demanding tone.