Intuition

Flint had reluctantly agreed to return to headquarters with his father. Anna was ordered to try to track Bastian and Eve while Blair was at Elkin’s office. The assistant was eagerly awaiting the results of the tests being run on the mysterious powder.

The Alpha was pacing at the end of the conference table. Elijah sat in his seat and watched his son as they waited on the elders to arrive. He understood the nervous energy filling Flint’s chest, so he did nothing to try to stop his anxious movements.

“This is stupid. I should be out there looking for them.” Flint grunted in frustration.

“They’re fine. Can you feel them?” Elijah probed.

“I feel their heartbeats. Why hasn’t she opened the mindlink?” He replied quickly.

The door opened and Joshua entered with Graham close behind him.

“Alpha.” The Beta greeted him as he examined Flint’s demeanor.

He was disheveled and unshaven. His eyes were both tired and frantic. His poster was anxious as he nervously clenched and unclenched his fists. The other elders filed in, one at a time, until everyone was seated in silent tension.

“Our Luna is missing. Our Alpha is attacking his own warriors. Our people are divided and under threat.” Joshua began the meeting.

“Every available tracker and warrior, in the territory and in the valley, are already on the search. Specialists have been sent out under the leadership of Anna Delanie.” Elijah explained.

“And the family of the dead?” Tim probed.

“The funeral arrangements are being made. I checked in with the widow myself.” Graham stated.

“And the injured warriors, how are they?” Flint leaned on the wall behind his chair.

The Beta opened the legal pad in front of him and began to read the notes he’d placed there.

“Roger Kern. Four broken ribs, lacerations on chest. Two to three months to heal. Alice Fall. Broken leg, crushed knee, torn ACL. Puncture wounds on calf and shin. Four to six months to heal. Lewis Meyers. Broken hip and tailbone. Puncture wounds and lacerations on hindquarters. Six to eight months to heal.”

Flint recognized the names and he felt for them in the mindlink. They were all in wolf form, so they could heal as quickly as possible.

“Ronald Tillman. Spinal fractures, crushed shoulder, broken clavicle. Puncture wounds on shoulder, throat, and clavicle. Eight to ten months to heal. Silas Byers. Broken jaw. Deep wounds on face and throat. Three to five months to heal.”

As Graham finished the list, Flint could picture the damage he’d done. Yes, the warriors on guard that night let him down. But his retribution of this failure had been more brutal than necessary. His warriors would be restricted to their animal forms, struggling to do the simplest things for months.

“The pack has to be addressed.” Edward eventually broke the silence.

“The situation with the warriors is dividing us.” Tim noted.

“What’s he supposed to say? His Luna is missing and he lashed out at the guards watching her. If they don’t understand that much, then they won’t be swayed with words anyhow.” Elijah spoke in a stiff tone.

“I will speak to the warriors directly. Not the pack.” Flint stated strictly.

“The pack still needs to know what happened at the Call. Most have heard of the loss by now.” Joshua reasoned.

“If Flint steps onto a stage, the recent events with the warriors will be the topic on everyone’s minds. They’ll have questions for him.” Graham commented.

Flint felt something strange in his chest. Eve. Her heart was pounding. He didn’t know why, but he knew something was wrong. He tried to focus on the meeting but he was failing. All he could think about was the feeling of his mate’s heartbeat.

“That’s true. Between Luna’s disappearance and the attack...” Edward nodded.

“I can address the incident at the Call. Only that.” Graham offered.

The elders nodded. Joshua examined the Beta, noticing that Elijah was doing the same.

“I will approve that speech for you.” Joshua stated.

Graham nodded at him. Flint abruptly straightened his posture. He turned his head, as if listening to a far off noise. He was alarmed. The pounding of Eve’s heart had calmed suddenly. Too suddenly.

“Flint.” Elijah tried to get his attention.

“Something’s wrong with Eve.” He grunted in a deep voice.

“What’s-”

Before Joshua could finish his question, Flint pulled the door open and exited. He didn’t bother to stop at the elevator. Instead, he leapt down the stairs. By the time he landed on the bottom floor, he had stripped his clothes and shifted into his wolven form.

Elijah stood and went to the window. He saw the large, white wolf dash across the parking lot and vanish in the darkness. He shook his head and pursed his lips pensively.

“He’s gone.” Elijah eventually stated.

“We have work to do anyway.” Joshua nodded, understanding.

The elders began filing out of the room.

“He’s volatile...” Graham murmured.

“He’s coping.” Elijah retorted sharply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flint lept off a tree and pushed himself forward. The feeling in his chest was changing. It was a like something was pulling him. It was such a light sensation that the Alpha had to focus on in order to follow it. Eve’s heartbeat was still scarily slow. Flint found this to be horrifying on multiple levels.

Her power had surged for a moment. It felt like a dense weight in his stomach just before he experienced the thundering of her heart. Something had happened. Flint knew Eve was weak. The power she was struggling with had been under her control lately. That is, unless she felt threatened or overly emotional.

Bastian has her. He has her. The thoughts making rounds in his mind were not productive at all to his level of focus.

Flint could no longer differentiate between his wolf and his human counterpart. It was as if were just a raw nerve. He ran until he couldn’t breathe and then he ran some more.

When the sun was coming up, he felt her heart beating strongly beside his own. His limbs were weak from his excessive exercise. He stumbled to a stop and collapsed with burning lungs. The light, hazy pull he’d felt in his chest had faded.

The emotions building within him erupted just after he stood once more. A howl that sounded like a pained, furious cry resonated in the air. The mindlink of all of StarLight vibrated with their Alpha’s fury and agony.

It felt like Flint was fracturing, being torn, and splitting apart. Like the entire pack was splitting apart right along with him.