Intuition

Eve watched Flint pull out of the driveway with a heavy feeling in her chest. She had lied to him successfully and he was gone to meet with the other Alphas. She felt guilty about hiding Selena's letter from him but she needed to know what the ex-Luna had to say.

The day of the meeting had come quickly. Now she just had to find a way to get her escort to accompany her to the valley. Also, how to convince them to keep the trip to himself until Eve could tell Flint what she'd learned.

"Luna." A deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

Eve turned to see Duncan leaning on the railing of the porch. His chocolate brown eyes were as serious as always and his dark chestnut hair did nothing to lighten the weight of his expression. She remembered the decision process that lead her to ask for Duncan to be her escort and she immediately began doubting her choice.

Immediately she'd crossed off Ellie and Austin from her list. They were new to StarLight and making waves with the Alpha would no doubt effect their lives in ways Eve couldn't predict. Next she thought of Jay.

Unfortunately, his being an Alpha meant he would be at the summit meeting with Flint. Also, Eve was unwilling to tell anyone about what happened with Selena at Bastian's attempted execution. It was Dolan family business and telling anyone about it would be considered a betrayal.

Johnny, the loyal, young, loveable warrior would have been perfect. However, he had participated in the first part of the Beta tournament. He would be exhausted and in need of healing before the second rounds began.

Her list had been narrowed to only two. Joshua and Duncan. Joshua, being an elder and Flint's chief advisor, would have offered an advantage in her plan. However, he was charged with helping Ashley run the pack in Flint's absence. Duncan was the only person left that Eve thought she could trust.

Even if the captain of the warriors was gruff and traditional, he was also loyal to StarLight. If she, as his Luna, gave him an order; she believed he would follow it. She chose him on blind faith and the feelings of the mindlink. Now, she would learn whether or not she had made a mistake.

"Duncan." She smiled at him.

He raised his eyebrows skeptically at her kind tone. Duncan knew she wanted something from him, and he had the feeling he wasn't going to like it.

"What's going on?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"You're supposed to follow me around until Flint comes back, right?" Eve probed knowingly.

Duncan nodded as he watched her suspiciously.

"Then you can drive." She walked passed him into the house.

He followed her to see her gathering her satchel and pull on her jacket.

"Sure. You have errands?" Duncan folded his arms over his chest.

"Yeah. You could say that." Eve answered vaguely.

"Where? The market? The hair dresser? Headquarters?" He wasn't satisfied with her response.

"Summerville." She shrugged as if she had said something mundane.

"The valley?!" Duncan shook his head automatically.

"Yes, the valley. I'll explain on the way." Eve held her keys out to him.

"No. I think I need you to explain now. Flint didn't tell me we'd be running around with the humans. He said you weren't planning to go anywhere, actually." He took the keys from her but didn't move out of the doorway.

"I'm going to overlook that obvious disregard of my orders and just tell you. Okay... So, I have a lead on something but I was told not to tell Flint about it." She stood up straight to allow her aura of authority to be felt.

"You're heading into a trap without even telling your mate where your going?" Duncan smiled at her like she were a naïve child. "Worse. You expect me to lie to my Alpha and follow you into said trap."

"I will explain everything but I need your word first." Eve leveled her gaze to meet his. "You will be silent about what I have to tell you. Even if you don't agree to follow me."

He narrowed his eyes at her. She could feel that he was struggling not to give her what she asked. Duncan had been trained to obey orders and even more so, to do as was asked of him by the Dolans. Eve was an extension of them, as was her power, and he was unsure how to react.

"Look, I asked for you by name. Out of everyone in the pack, I knew you were trustworthy and loyal. I know you'll see that I'm doing this for StarLight and you'll want to help me." She allowed her honesty to flow through the mindlink between them.

Duncan flinched before sighing heavily. He was clearly torn.

"Okay. I will hear you out and keep my mouth shut. But no promises that I'm going to let you walk into this obvious trap." He eventually relented.

"Okay, let me start at the beginning." Eve took a deep breath. "We discovered that Selena had this foundation set up in the valley. It's called Star Dust Hope. She uses it to help half-breeds and place rogue children with other wolf families in the valley."

"Okay...?" He furrowed his brows.

"I think all the digging into her organization got her attention. That and... She felt something. Either way, she reached out to me at Ellie's bridal party in Calgary." She rushed through her explanation.

"She reached out how?" Duncan stiffened as if he were expecting an attack.

"A letter. It was given to me by a half-breed. Her blood was barely diluted but she definitely had some human mixed in there. Anyway, I have to go to the valley to meet up with her. If I can find Selena... I can fix a lot of things." Eve fiddled with her sleeves.

She had lost her confidence. Truthfully, once spoken out loud, the entire meeting sounded exactly as Duncan described it. Like it was a trap. The commander could sense something going on beneath the surface of her answer.

"What things?" He probed.

"She could know where Bastian is. She could explain so much about why she left and what's going on with the rogues." Eve fought the urge to step back from his searching gaze.

"Be honest with me and I'll go." Duncan sighed.

"What?" She met his dark eyes again.

"Tell me what's happening, for real, and I'll go with you to meet Selena." He elaborated.

"Okay, okay..." Eve steeled herself and raised her chin.

The power inside her was stirring under the pressure of maintaining her secret. However, she was on the verge of getting what she needed and all she had to do was what she wanted most. To be honest.

"Each generation of Alpha is stronger than the last. It's a power that's passed down from generation to generation. The Dolan's have been the Alpha family of StarLight for over one hundred years."

As Eve spoke Duncan's eyes slowly widened. She held her stomach protectively.

"Now, I'm pregnant and the power of this pup is too much. Something is wrong. We can't find any information on this and no one knows anything. Yeah, she may know where Bastian went and she could help us with the rogues... But I just need to talk to her. I have to."

Duncan blinked a few times, absorbing the information Eve was spilling. After a few moments of tense anticipation, she watched a resolved, determined expression settle on his face. Being honest with him was more frightening than Eve thought it would be. Still, she silently awaited a response.

"Come on, Luna." The commander sighed and lifted the keys she'd handed him. "I'm driving, right?"